In Riga’s largest market, expired food is relabeled and sold with almost no consequences.
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Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Russian government has denied again and again that it ran a huge performance-enhancing doping operation for its Olympic athletes.
Tigran V. Martirosyan (right) returns home after competing in the World Weightlifting Championship in France in 2011. (Photo: PHOTOLURE / Vahram Baghdasaryan)
Read more: Armenian Weightlifters Used Russian Lab to Cheat on Olympic Drug Tests
The story begins with a stolen car. It ends -- according to a new investigation by KRIK, an OCCRP partner -- with a connection to Vladimir Marinkovic, a senior legislator and vice president of the Serbian National Assembly.
KRIK reporter Dragana Peco speaks with V.B., a victim of the “stolen car ‘finders,’” who did not want his identity revealed for fear of retribution. (Photo: KRIK)
Read more: Vice President of Serbian Parliament has “Car Mafia” P.I. as Business Associate
The cold-blooded murder of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was also a cold slap across the face of modern Europe. That the public watchdogs -- the beloved members of a profession that is sometimes more reviled than admired -- could be halted simply by a brutal act of violence seems to portend a further breakdown of European values. There has been much handwringing about what to do.
Jan Kuciak
Read more: Jan’s and Daphne’s Laws: How to Stop the Murder of Journalists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin may be running for reelection as an independent candidate, at least officially — but his electoral campaign is wholly funded by the ruling United Russia party and 22 affiliated foundations. They have contributed the entire 400 million rubles (US$ 7 million) that any candidate can legally spend on the election.
Vladimir Putin is running as an independent candidate in Russia's presidential elections — but donations to his campaign link back to familiar faces from the Russian elite, including those from the country's ruling United Russia party. Photo by: Edin Pasovic / OCCRP
Read more: Anonymous Generosity: the Foundations Sponsoring Putin’s Re-Election
As soon as journalists published the last investigation of their murdered colleague, Slovak reporter Jan Kuciak, they immediately focused on another important issue: Why was he killed? And how did his killers know that he was working on a story about them?
Read more: Freedom of Information Law: Reporter’s Best Friend or Killer?
Golden Visa programs intended to lure foreign investors to Bulgaria have had mixed results, reporters for OCCRP partner Bivol have discovered. One appears to be a flop, and both are vulnerable to a technicality that could enrich bankers, and not the country.
Read more: Bulgaria’s Golden Visas: Missed Targets and a Banking Loophole
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project condemns a raid at the offices of Botswana’s Center for Investigative Journalism (INK) and the harassment of Joel Konopo, a founding and managing partner of the center.
Joel Konopo
Land belonging to a Romanian military base used by NATO for sensitive training exercises is actually owned by influential Syrian businessmen related or connected to dictator Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of the Russian government. The unlikely landlords got ahold of the land thanks to the local abuse of laws intended to restore property confiscated by Romania’s Communist regime in the 1940s and 1950s.
Read more: Romanian Army Land Used by NATO Owned by Friends and Kin of Syrian Dictator
Millions fill the streets of Rio de Janeiro every February to dance the smooth samba rhythms and watch the giant floats and brightly-costumed performers celebrate the nation’s strengths and mock its shortcomings.
Beija-Flor's winning float: a rat pulling the Petrobras HQ (Photo: AFP)
For refugees and poor migrants, travel can be terrifying, with no guarantee of a welcome at the end. For the one percent, it's a different story, as a growing number of cash-strapped countries invite them in — as long as they bring plenty of money.
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