Fake Parties, Real Money: Hungary’s Bogus Party Problem

When Hungarians picked up their ballots to vote in April’s national elections, more than half of their 23 choices were parties they’d never heard of.

Votes are counted in Hungarian parliamentary election, at the polling station in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Read more: Fake Parties, Real Money: Hungary’s Bogus Party Problem

Inside the Mafia-Run Cocaine Network Shattered by European Police

A two-year investigation culminated this week with 90 arrests, splitting wide open a mafia coalition that trafficked drugs to Europe from across the world. Here’s how the clans ran it.

Masked police stand in an ice parlor in Duisburg, western Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018 as authorities conduct coordinated raids in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands in a crackdown on the Italian mafia. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

Read more: Inside the Mafia-Run Cocaine Network Shattered by European Police

Putin’s Bodyguards Rewarded with Land and Power

Once responsible just for his physical security, President Putin’s bodyguards now have impressive titles — and land worth many millions in Russia’s most expensive region. The workers and pensioners who previously held the property say they were swindled out of it.

Illustration: Natalya Yamshchikova

Read more: Putin’s Bodyguards Rewarded with Land and Power

Nominations Open for 2018 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption

A globe-spanning panel of nine experts on organized crime, corruption and terrorism will select the 2018 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Read more: Nominations Open for 2018 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption

Mystery Company Named by Murdered Maltese Journalist Linked to Power Station Developer

Documents obtained by Reuters and the Daphne Project show two Panamanian companies owned by two Maltese politicians – one the Energy Minister and one the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff – expected to get payments from an offshore company connected to the man who won a key government concession to build a large power plant.

Read more: Mystery Company Named by Murdered Maltese Journalist Linked to Power Station Developer

OCCRP Strongly Objects to Romania’s Misuse of GDPR to Muzzle Media

RISE Project, an award-winning investigative journalism outlet in Romania and OCCRP’s partner, was ordered Thursday by the Romanian Data Protection Authority (ANSPDCP) to reveal its sources under the threat of a fine of up to €20 million based on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) directive 679/2016.

Read more: OCCRP Strongly Objects to Romania’s Misuse of GDPR to Muzzle Media

Encryption: A Godsend to All Who Seek Privacy, Even Criminals

Organized criminals as well as ordinary citizens have cause to guard their privacy with encryption. With governments increasingly resorting to digital surveillance, people on both sides of the line between right and wrong are using it.

Encrypted message (Photo:OCCRP)

Read more: Encryption: A Godsend to All Who Seek Privacy, Even Criminals

A Scandal, a Murder, and a Mystery in Bulgaria

A suspect in the brutal rape and murder of a Bulgarian journalist has been apprehended. But questions remain about whether Viktoria Marinova’s coverage of a procurement scandal was the real reason for her killing.

Viktoria Marinova (Photo: Facebook)

Read more: A Scandal, a Murder, and a Mystery in Bulgaria

Death On The Border

Seven months ago, three employees of the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio were abducted in the Mataje River region on the border between Ecuador and Colombia. After almost three weeks in captivity, reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas, and their driver, Efrain Segarra, were executed by the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group of former FARC guerillas and drug traffickers who operate in this lawless jungle.

Read more: Death On The Border

Serbian Businessman With Organized Crime Ties to Profit Big in Airport Deal

Stanko Subotic, a businessman twice indicted for cigarette smuggling and known for his links to an alleged drug lord, is set to make millions from the expansion of Belgrade's airport.

Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. (Photo: KRIK)

Read more: Serbian Businessman With Organized Crime Ties to Profit Big in Airport Deal