Fraud Factory Firms Traced to Penniless Proxies

Companies used to hawk get-rich-quick investment schemes from a Kyiv call center were registered in the Caribbean and Estonia in the names of impoverished impoverished Swedes.

18 May 2020

Mattias Carlsson (DN), Holger Roonemaa (OCCRP), Oliver Kund (Eesti Päevaleht), Hannes Munzinger (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

DIY: The New Amphetamine Trade

By Mujtaba Ali

Last summer, when UK police raided an industrial building in the picturesque market town of Newton-le-Willows, about 20 ...

OCCRP Condemns Planned Interrogation of our Editor in Ukraine

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) condemns Ukrainian authorities’ ongoing harassment of our local member center Slidstvo.Info in ...

OCCRP and Partners From Kyrgyzstan Win Top U.S. Award for Crime

A joint team from OCCRP, RFE/RL's Radio Azattyk, and OCCRP member center Kloop has received the 2019 Tom Renner Award ...

Features

Oak and Omerta in Romania: Saving the Lungs of Europe

The teeth on an average full-skip chain stand at three-quarter inch intervals and are about the length of a thumbnail. Moving these blades ...

Arab Reporters During COVID-19 Lockdown: Life On the Edge

Editor Lina Attala lost her breath when she saw the article. It appeared on a pro-government website and claimed that her independent outlet ...

Japanese Gangs Vie for Power Amid Pandemic

Japan’s government has been criticized for its slow and inadequate response to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Japanese organized crime, meanwhile, has moved ...

From Our Members

Fraud Factory Firms Traced to Penniless Proxies

Companies used to hawk get-rich-quick investment schemes from a Kyiv call center were registered in ...

The Convict and Coronavirus: Romania’s Million-Mask Mess

A Romanian national healthcare supplier bought a million masks of questionable quality from a convicted ...

OCCRP and Partners From Kyrgyzstan Win Top U.S. Award

A joint team from OCCRP, RFE/RL's Radio Azattyk, and OCCRP member center Kloop has received ...

A Real Estate Empire Built on Dark Money

The Abdukadyr family made millions on the back of an illicit Central Asian cargo business. Now we know where the money ended up: exclusive villas, gleaming high-rises, and phantom investments across the world.

The Great Bulgarian Chopper Swap

An aviation deal in Eastern Europe should have raised alarms in UK, experts say.

Tricked Into the Migrant Trade

Hundreds of Ukrainian sailors, enticed by unscrupulous operators, are bringing migrants to Europe in yachts. Many say they had no idea what they were getting into.

OCCRP Outraged by Editor’s Detention and Denial of Entry on Eve of UN Anti-Corruption Conference

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is deeply concerned by yesterday's detention of Stevan Dojcinovic, a regional editor for OCCRP and founder of the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) in Serbia, by local police upon arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

stevan Stevan Dojcinovic

The Chef’s Global Footprints

The U.S. government recently went after assets belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman close to Putin. But there’s more.

Read more: The Chef’s Global Footprints

Albanian Drug Suspect’s Banana Bonanza

An Albanian businessman wanted for smuggling drugs in a banana consignment from Ecuador was allowed to make over 100 additional shipments on exactly the same route, before a routine scan led to Albania’s biggest-ever cocaine bust.

#29LEAKS: Inside a London Company Mill

What do a Swedish Hells Angels boss, an Iranian state oil company, the Italian mob, and a fake Gambian bank have in common? The answer: A company services firm called Formations House, hidden behind the doors of one of London’s most exclusive addresses.

The Dark Money Men

For years, a network of informal couriers has funneled millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan in cold, hard cash. The underground money transfer system fuels corruption, destroys transparency — and has claimed people’s lives. Here’s how it works.

As South Sudan Seeks Funds for Peace, a Billion Dollar Spending Spree

South Sudan is spending well beyond its means, even as it says its efforts to move on from a devastating civil war are being stifled by a lack of funding. At the same time, a series of elaborate government contracts worth $1.4 billion appear to have benefitted three businessmen with links to the president’s office.

Mexico’s Cartel Wars: Living in a War Zone

Nancy Garcia’s 16-year-old cousin was picking fruit with his father at a ranch in rural Michoacan when armed gunmen upended his and his family’s life.

Men kidnapped by drug hitmen are seen at a ranch near the municipality of Sabinas Hidalgo, some 100 km away from Monterrey April 27, 2010 (REUTERS/Tomas Bravo).

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Slideshow

Nigeria Traces $9.6 Billion Financial Hit Back to $390,000 in Alleged Bribes

Lebanon Removes Banking Secrecy Rules

PM of One of Bosnia’s Regions Detained over Ventilator Procurement

Russian Customs Finds 70 Tons of Cheese Smuggled from the EU

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The Chef’s Global Footprints

Albanian Drug Suspect’s Banana Bonanza

#29LEAKS: Inside a London Company Mill

The Dark Money Men

As South Sudan Seeks Funds for Peace, a Billion Dollar Spending Spree

Mexico’s Cartel Wars: Living in a War Zone