The Oil Card By Nick Sorrentino

Chapter 2

Dubai UAE

Jeff Singer looked out over the Persian Gulf from his Dubai condo. The blue-green waters contrasted sharply with the dusty brown coastline of the United Arab Emirates.

Singer was no particular fan of Dubai, summers were 120 degrees and as humid as Florida but without the relief of thunderstorms. He could however drink liquor here without fear of jail time, and this was one of the main reasons he had moved his office 6 months before from Riyadh.

His work had moved him steadily east. He started in New York. Then spent much of the 1990s in London just as the City began hitting on all cylinders. Then to Zurich for a while, then Riyadh, and now Dubai.

Dubai is one of the main places where petrodollars enter the world financial system. In recent years Dubai had grown at an exponential rate as oil prices had trended upward.

Singer over the years had developed good working relationships with some of the most prominent families on the Saudi Peninsula. In Switzerland Singer had helped them gain access to capital markets and facilitated highly complicated transactions. Singer knew how to move a billion dollars quietly, a skill few have, and he was well paid because of it. Last year he made 34 million dollars after taxes.

He stood to make a good deal more in Dubai. Deals were done here, and since Singer maintained an office in Switzerland he’d only have to tolerate Dubai summers periodically. Summers in Zurich and winters in Dubai. That’s what many of his clients did.

Singer worked for an independent branch of Union Partners Bank based in Zurich and London. It was one of the 5 largest banks in the world and Singer was one of the brightest stars within the firm.

Petrodollars were a good specialty. Especially if one could deal with them discreetly. Singer was one of the best.