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
Read more: OCCRP Condemns Media Raid and Police Questioning
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)
Read more: Brazil’s Monsters Come Out During Carnival
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.
Read more: Gold for Visas
A billionaire businessman with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has bought a Cypriot passport through a controversial scheme that allows rich investors to acquire citizenship and visa-free access to the European Union, according to documents obtained exclusively by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Guardian.
The flag of Cyprus, reimagined for the island country’s new investor citizens. Photo: Edin Pasovic / OCCRP
Read more: Russian Billionaire Linked to Putin and Manafort Has Shiny New Cyprus Passport
In late February 2018, Jan Kuciak, a young Slovak investigative journalist, was murdered by a single bullet. His fiancée was killed alongside him.
Read more: A Murdered Journalist's Last Investigation
India’s state-owned Bank of Baroda -- one of the country’s largest -- played a crucial role in the financial machinations of South Africa’s politically influential Gupta family, allowing them to move hundreds of millions of dollars originating in alleged dirty deals into offshore accounts, an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP) and The Hindu has found.
![A man walks past the Bank of Baroda’s headquarters in Mumbai, India, May 3, 2016. Photo (c): Reuters/Danish Siddiqui. All rights reserved]](/images/stories/CCWatch/investigations/RTX2E45M.jpg)
A man walks past the Bank of Baroda’s headquarters in Mumbai, India, May 3, 2016. Photo Reuters/Danish Siddiqui.
Read more: India’s Bank of Baroda Played a Key Role in South Africa’s Gupta Scandal
