A network linked to the leadership of Sudan’s military, accused of genocide by the UN, has grabbed a vast property cluster in Dubai as part of an expansive “paramilitary-industrial complex” across Africa and the Middle East, according to a report by The Guardian, citing The Sentry investigation.
Sentry, a US investigative group, has revealed that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as ‘Hemedti’, the leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is closely linked to a £17.7 million property portfolio in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Family members, individuals under sanctions, and entities linked to Hemedti have acquired more than 20 luxury properties in the region.
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“In addition to arming the militia, the UAE allows the RSF to base part of its paramilitary-industrial complex in Dubai. Our investigation shows the Dagalo family has also found a safe haven for its wealth in the Emirates,” The Guardian reported, citing Nick Donovan, senior investigator at the Sentry, as saying.
The ongoing war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which started in 2023, has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 12 million citizens, a quarter of Sudan’s population, fleeing their homes as of January 2026. US sanctions on Hemedti and his linkages to multiple properties stand in stark contrast to the homelessness the war has inflicted on Sudan, killing more than 1,00,000 people.
Sentry’s recent findings reveal that the UAE provides a “safe haven” for the militia group’s family and wealth, the majority of which is believed to come from gold smuggled out of Sudan. But how is the family accumulating wealth in the region?
Hemedti seized control of a gold mine in Darfur in 2017, with exports enabling him and his associates to accumulate significant assets, the publication reported, adding that a network of firms based in the UAE has assisted the leadership to turn smuggled gold into actual currency, with Dubai a major hub for the precious metal.
Sentry’s analysis of leaked real estate records has revealed that properties owned by RSF-linked entities and members of Hemedti’s family were worth approximately £7.4 million, with real estate owned by individuals under sanctions who are linked to the RSF worth another £10.3 million.
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In March 2020, Hemedti bought three apartments in Dubai’s eastern suburbs, close to the UAE’s Al Minhad military airbase, the report revealed, stating that the properties were first bought in his own name and then sold in July 2022 to Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services (“Prodigious”), registered in the UAE.
It further added that the past and present directors and owners of Prodigious are closely linked to other companies sanctioned for their connections to the RSF.
Prodigious is currently 100% owned by Abo Zer Abdelnabi Habiballa Ahmmed, also known as Abozer Habib, who is also linked to Dubai’s gold trade and has been sanctioned by the US for operating other companies accused of providing funding and military equipment to the RSF.
According to the report, Hemedti’s relatives acquired multiple luxury properties in Dubai, including six-bedroom villas in a gated community near the Meydan racecourse, close to the city centre. These villas were purchased through Prodigious. Further analysis showed that several relatives of the Dagalo family were located within the same gated community.
The investigation also revealed that Hemedti’s wife purchased a plot of land worth £627,000 during Sudan’s war in a luxury development near Trump International Golf Club. Among others named was Mustafa Ibrahim Abdel Nabi Mohamed, who has been sanctioned by both the EU and the UK for his alleged role as a financial adviser to the RSF and the Dagalo family. He is reported to own an apartment valued at £516,000 in the Burj Khalifa.
As cited in the report by The Sentry, the Dagalo family declined to comment on whether members still owned the specific properties but said that any private residences or assets had been lawfully acquired. The family also stressed that ownership of property does not imply wrongdoing and said its members had been involved in legitimate commercial activities such as livestock trading for generations.
Mohamed told The Sentry that he is not a financial adviser to the RSF, but has served as the “financial director seconded to the Rapid Support Forces” since 2017, when the RSF was a legally constituted entity under Sudanese law. He added that since the war began, he has not engaged in any activities that undermine peace and stability in Sudan.
The UAE has previously said it “categorically rejects” allegations that it provided weapons, funding, trainers, or logistical support to the RSF. However, as international scrutiny around Hemedti and the RSF intensifies, the contrast between Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis and the family’s luxury property holdings in Dubai has drawn sharper attention to the financial networks sustaining the militia’s power beyond the battlefield.
Sentry, a US investigative group, has revealed that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as ‘Hemedti’, the leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is closely linked to a £17.7 million property portfolio in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Family members, individuals under sanctions, and entities linked to Hemedti have acquired more than 20 luxury properties in the region.
Also read: Dubai eases travel: Gold and Blue Line metro expansion ease movement for residents, tourists
“In addition to arming the militia, the UAE allows the RSF to base part of its paramilitary-industrial complex in Dubai. Our investigation shows the Dagalo family has also found a safe haven for its wealth in the Emirates,” The Guardian reported, citing Nick Donovan, senior investigator at the Sentry, as saying.
The ongoing war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which started in 2023, has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 12 million citizens, a quarter of Sudan’s population, fleeing their homes as of January 2026. US sanctions on Hemedti and his linkages to multiple properties stand in stark contrast to the homelessness the war has inflicted on Sudan, killing more than 1,00,000 people.
Sentry’s recent findings reveal that the UAE provides a “safe haven” for the militia group’s family and wealth, the majority of which is believed to come from gold smuggled out of Sudan. But how is the family accumulating wealth in the region?
Hemedti seized control of a gold mine in Darfur in 2017, with exports enabling him and his associates to accumulate significant assets, the publication reported, adding that a network of firms based in the UAE has assisted the leadership to turn smuggled gold into actual currency, with Dubai a major hub for the precious metal.
Sentry’s analysis of leaked real estate records has revealed that properties owned by RSF-linked entities and members of Hemedti’s family were worth approximately £7.4 million, with real estate owned by individuals under sanctions who are linked to the RSF worth another £10.3 million.
Also read: Indian alternative investment firms in Gulf stare at sea of uncertainty
In March 2020, Hemedti bought three apartments in Dubai’s eastern suburbs, close to the UAE’s Al Minhad military airbase, the report revealed, stating that the properties were first bought in his own name and then sold in July 2022 to Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services (“Prodigious”), registered in the UAE.
It further added that the past and present directors and owners of Prodigious are closely linked to other companies sanctioned for their connections to the RSF.
Prodigious is currently 100% owned by Abo Zer Abdelnabi Habiballa Ahmmed, also known as Abozer Habib, who is also linked to Dubai’s gold trade and has been sanctioned by the US for operating other companies accused of providing funding and military equipment to the RSF.
According to the report, Hemedti’s relatives acquired multiple luxury properties in Dubai, including six-bedroom villas in a gated community near the Meydan racecourse, close to the city centre. These villas were purchased through Prodigious. Further analysis showed that several relatives of the Dagalo family were located within the same gated community.
The investigation also revealed that Hemedti’s wife purchased a plot of land worth £627,000 during Sudan’s war in a luxury development near Trump International Golf Club. Among others named was Mustafa Ibrahim Abdel Nabi Mohamed, who has been sanctioned by both the EU and the UK for his alleged role as a financial adviser to the RSF and the Dagalo family. He is reported to own an apartment valued at £516,000 in the Burj Khalifa.
As cited in the report by The Sentry, the Dagalo family declined to comment on whether members still owned the specific properties but said that any private residences or assets had been lawfully acquired. The family also stressed that ownership of property does not imply wrongdoing and said its members had been involved in legitimate commercial activities such as livestock trading for generations.
Mohamed told The Sentry that he is not a financial adviser to the RSF, but has served as the “financial director seconded to the Rapid Support Forces” since 2017, when the RSF was a legally constituted entity under Sudanese law. He added that since the war began, he has not engaged in any activities that undermine peace and stability in Sudan.
The UAE has previously said it “categorically rejects” allegations that it provided weapons, funding, trainers, or logistical support to the RSF. However, as international scrutiny around Hemedti and the RSF intensifies, the contrast between Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis and the family’s luxury property holdings in Dubai has drawn sharper attention to the financial networks sustaining the militia’s power beyond the battlefield.
