Terrorist groups suspected of funneling money to Dubai properties

TOKYO -- Numerous people linked to groups targeted with U.S. sanctions as terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah and Houthi rebels, appear to have bought real estate in Dubai, based on data relating to hundreds of thousands of properties obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS).

Countries typically seek to curb terrorist financing by cutting off organizations and individuals from the financial system and freezing their assets. The new findings, the result of a joint investigation by 74 media organizations across 58 countries, point to a hole in such sanctions that is suspected to have provided an opening for money laundering and the financing of terrorism.