"DUBAI -- U.S. companies, tapping one of the few flight corridors out of Moscow, are moving employees from Russia to the United Arab Emirates, a boon for the Gulf nation as it seeks to cement its place as a global commercial hub.
The U.A.E. is one of the few U.S. partners willing to provide visas to Russians not under sanctions.
The companies include Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., professional-services firms McKinsey & Co. and Boston Consulting Group, as well as Alphabet Inc.'s Google, people familiar with the relocations said.
The influx of workers comes as the U.A.E. has largely avoided criticizing Russia and hasn't enforced sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other Western nations. Flights between Dubai and cities in Russia operated by Emirati carriers have continued, even as European airspace has largely been closed to Russia's airlines.
The flow of Russians and people of other nationalities working for international firms is likely to further boost Dubai's status as a global commercial hub. The city became one of the few globally during the coronavirus pandemic to loosen visa rules and welcome foreign talent.
"Most companies are simply giving Moscow-based talent the option to work from anywhere, with some choosing Dubai, while others are relocating entire offices to the U.A.E.," said Trevor McFarlane, the founder of Emerging Markets Intelligence and Research, which runs networking events for executives and government officials.
The country, whose legal system is based on Islamic law, recently decriminalized alcohol and the cohabitation of unmarried couples, and introduced other policy measures designed to give Western expatriates a lifestyle akin to those in their home countries. Those changes have made the U.A.E. an easier sell for multinationals relocating staff, Mr. McFarlane said, declining to offer specific names of companies.
A spokeswoman for the U.A.E. Foreign Ministry didn't respond to requests to comment about how it was helping companies move employees from Russia.
Visa Inc., which has offered relocation to all of its 210 Russia-based employees, is moving some of those to its offices in Dubai, as well as Ukrainians, people familiar with the company said.
Consulting firms such as Kearney and Alvarez & Marsal, which have expanded in the Persian Gulf in recent years, are offering staff the option to relocate, people familiar with their operations said. Goldman has moved roughly 40 members of staff to Dubai from Russia, said people familiar with the bank's shifts. Banks outside the U.S., such as Paris-based Rothschild & Co., also have moved employees to Dubai.
U.K.-based law firm Linklaters LLP is relocating 120 people, including lawyers and support staff, from Russia, with some moving to Dubai, a person familiar with the firm said.
A smaller number of companies are moving their employees to Qatar, another Gulf state that has remained open to Russians. Consulting firm Oliver Wyman has long sought to win business in Qatar, and is moving a half a dozen or so employees there to help meet that goal, two people aware of those changes said." [1]
1. U.S. Firms Relocate Workers In Russia To U.A.E.
Jones, Rory; Kalin, Stephen.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 15 Apr 2022: A.8.
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