The United Arab Emirates’ ruling al-Nahyan family is benefiting from tens of millions in European Union subsidies to grow crops destined for the Gulf, according to a new investigation by DeSmog.
The independent investigative journalism organisation found that subsidiaries controlled by Abu Dhabi's royal family collected more than €71m ($84) over six years for farmland it controls in Romania, Italy and Spain.
The Al Nahyan family is the second richest in the world, with an estimated wealth of more than $320bn, mostly derived from the Emirates’ vast oil and gas reserves.
The EU pays out about $64bn each year to farmers and rural areas under its common agricultural policy (Cap). This accounts for a third of the union's entire budget, but an unknown amount of it ends up in the hands of foreign investors.
DeSmog, in partnership with El Diario and G4Media, said it reviewed data for thousands of Cap beneficiaries between 2019 and 2024, tracing 110 European subsidy payments to a network of companies and subsidiaries controlled by the Al Nahyans and Abu Dhabi's investment and holding company, ADQ.
