“I feel terrible that people have been swindled out of money by trusting me.”
British adventurer and TV star Ben Fogle was horrified to learn his image had become the face of an investment scam that was spread online www.occrp.org/en/project/s...
#ScamEmpire
What do 1.9 terabytes of leaked documents, records of money flows, and audio recordings from inside scam call centers reveal?
The merciless world of professional scammers, who steal their victims’ life savings — and then come back for more.
Inside #ScamEmpire👇
www.occrp.org/en/project/s...
⚡Andrew Tate lands in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — 50 miles away from Donald Trump’s residence Mar-a-Lago, @occrp.org confirms www.occrp.org/en/news/andr...
Earlier, @financialtimes.com reported that Trump's administration pushed Romanian authorities to lift Tate's travel ban
⚖️ This is the first time a British politician has been charged under the UK Bribery Act. ⚖️
We're monitoring this case closely. Regardless of the outcome, it could provide valuable insights into foreign interference within our political system.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Thanks Duncan
In an @npr.org interview, OCCRP publisher
@drewoccrp.bsky.social said that bad actors are the biggest beneficiaries of the U.S. foreign funding freeze
www.npr.org/2025/02/16/n...
The Azerbaijani Laundromat scandal has reached the German courtroom. Two former German MPs are on trial for allegedly taking bribes to serve Azerbaijan’s interests - will there finally be accountability? More answers here ➡️ anticorru.pt/39E
OCCRP took a closer look at our [Transparency International Georgia’s] recent reporting on Ivanishvili’s accelerated transfer of assets from offshore entities to Georgia between December 2024 and January 2025, after he was sanctioned by the U.S. in late December 2024.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/sla...
A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid, ruling that the White House overstepped its authority.
The decision follows a lawsuit challenging the freeze. Here’s what it means. 👇
🔗 www.occrp.org/en/news/us-j...
🧵
Adams prosecutor resigns “I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me."
”https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/14/nyregion/eric-adams-charges-doj/b67279e2-948a-5d0f-b225-939db710d8a1?smid=url-share
Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the US's anti-corruption bona fides, and opening the door to kleptocrats and malign actors from around the world.
My piece for @financialtimes.com on the worst week in the history of anti-corruption efforts in US history:
www.ft.com/content/f9d1...
Of course he did
Care about #corruption? He claims to have arranged $15M in "sponsorship" payments **EACH MONTH** to officials in Turkey and northern Cyprus.
What about #moneylaundering? They also hired thousands of people to open "mule accounts" to launder the funds across Europe.
20 hrs of exclusive interviews w the imprisoned "finance director" of an illegal online betting empire -- that's some of the incredible source material behind @occrp.org's latest story. 1/2
www.occrp.org/en/investiga...
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is using a 2019 OCCRP investigation to attack the free press and U.S. humanitarian aid.
The story in question revealed how Rudy Giuliani enlisted questionable associates to dig up dirt in Ukraine.
Extraordinary outcome to this case - if this was not a SLAPP suit, can such a thing ever exist? @skcoughtrie.bsky.social @spotlightcorruption.org @transparencyuk.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/571b...
US imposes sanctions on Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff for alleged corruption
https://www.ft.com/content/d43181bb-ca62-4510-927c-72430b0b0acd
lots of people could say, rightfully, that if Melania were the wife of a foreign leader, this would be a bribe under the FCPA.
under US domestic bribery statutes, it requires an "official act" by the government official to become an illicit payment.
🎉Congrats to @mairamartini.bsky.social and to the entire TI team on this decision!
Maira is a true leader who will bring great intelligence and dedication (and some fun!) to this role. We at GACC & @occrp.org look forward to continuing our partnership with Maira at the helm.
Aliyev's family acquired UK real estate worth 100s of millions. But there’s no way for the public to know who the real owners are — b/c of the treatment afforded to offshore trusts.
These loopholes make the UK a haven for elites to stash cash while evading accountability.
“This is a partnership that’s built to last/Throwing off the restraints of your Soviet past”
Verses from a poem written by a UK House of Lords member as a glowing tribute to the repressive kleptocratic govt of Azerbaijan.
Read more from @occrp.org & @theguardian.com
www.occrp.org/en/project/k...
Great profile piece from @jdowsea.bsky.social @occrp.org on Lord Evans of Watford and other peers covering their peculiar love for a corrupt and repressive regime in the South Caucuses www.occrp.org/en/project/k...
Brilliant thread on the mystery surrounding whether the $700 mil of UK properties of the Aliyev-Pashayeva family of kelptocratic Azerbaiajn are still held by them. We don't know because of Isle of Man trusts. But why are these specific manx trusts so popular? 1/2
Who owns London’s luxury real estate? Sometimes there's no way to know.
The family of Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev held properties in the British capital worth millions of dollars. Do they still own them?
We can't tell. They’re hidden behind a secretive offshore trust.
Our latest story🧵👇
Kazakhstan's Senate passed an amendment to make the personal lives of former presidents & their families a state secret.
The measure would bar investigating or disclosing information about Nursultan Nazarbayev, who governed for three decades, & his family.
NEW INVESTIGATION 🇬🇧🇦🇿🏢🏘️
In 2021, OCCRP journalists needed leaked data to identify the $700m in UK property tied to Azerbaijan's ruling family.
After UK transparency reforms, how much is visible now?
Spoiler: More -- except for the 10 properties owned by trusts!
www.occrp.org/en/investiga...
What a great first post!
Latest from Trafigura's historic #corruption trial in Switzerland, where prosecutor seeks 4yr prison term for a top exec.
“He could have stopped at any moment the bribery machine.” They “used Switzerland as a refuge and exploited the fragile state of Angola."
www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-wolv...
A friend points out that dictatorships, nowadays, also fail because they run out of money. They can't steal enough from the state to pay loyalists, wind up relying on narcotics trade or international crime (true of both Syria and Venezuela, for example) and then their soldiers stop fighting
