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Greetings From Amsterdam,

Something big happened this week in the world of investigative reporting. Wednesday saw the official launch of “Reporters Shield,” a new initiative designed to protect media outlets and NGOs from one of the biggest threats against independent journalism — bogus lawsuits, known as SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation).

After dealing with dozens of SLAPPs ourselves, we teamed up a year ago with the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and other partners to get this project off the ground.

We’re thrilled to see it in operation. News organizations can apply to join Reporters Shield here ([link removed]) .

Now, for the latest in global corruption:


** NEW INVESTIGATION
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🇺🇸 US Retirement Fund Manager Bought Farms from Alleged Land Grabbers with Brazilian Sugar Giant Cosan 🇧🇷

Quick Summary: Leaked documents show TIAA, a major U.S. retirement fund manager, ignored major red flags when buying Brazilian farmland from people accused of land grabbing via joint ventures with sugar producer Cosan. They include a man accused of taking over an area the size of Luxembourg through fraud and bribery. >> Read the full story ([link removed])

Necessary Background

What is TIAA?
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America manages the retirement funds of millions of academics and civil servants in the United States and elsewhere.

Why is TIAA Buying Brazilian Farmland?
Retirement fund managers are always looking for new investment opportunities to grow the accounts of their clients. TIAA started buying up Brazilian agricultural properties in 2007, as the U.S. mortgage crisis was gathering pace. As stock markets tanked and food prices soared, the fund was among a wave of investors that turned to farmland as a safe bet.

Why did TIAA Partner With Cosan?
Foreign investment in farmland remains a sensitive issue in Brazil. TIAA teamed up with Cosan, a Brazilian sugar conglomerate, to get around the country’s strict foreign ownership rules.

🤥 Marketing Vs. Reality: TIAA, whose motto is “financial services for the greater good,” has always insisted it invests responsibly. But our investigation shows TIAA ignored a litany of warning signs when buying Brazilian farms from people who had been publicly accused of stealing land — some violently.

🌳 Environmental Consequences: The farms TIAA bought are in the Brazilian Cerrado, the most biologically rich savanna on earth. Half of the Cerrado has already been destroyed in a farming boom — and what’s left is disappearing fast.

>> Read the full story ([link removed])


** REPORTING ON RUSSIA
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🇷🇺 Investigating a Wagner Graveyard – Over 50,000 Russian prisoners have joined the Wagner Group as mercenaries. Many of them were killed fighting in Ukraine.

Our Russian member center investigated three of these convicts to find out how they ended up in Wagner graveyards.

Their lives paint a bleak picture of modern Russia.

>> Read the full story ([link removed])


** THE OCCRP NETWORK
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🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center reports on shipments of helicopters sent from Hungary to Ukraine. The story, with accompanying video, ([link removed]) appears to contradict Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s insistence that his government would not help arm Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

🇧🇬 Bivol and Bird: Our two Bulgarian member centers continue ([link removed]) to face lawsuits over their reporting into suspected organized crime boss Christophoros Amanatidis, who allegedly bribed police to cover up the 2018 murder of Ruja Ignatova, aka the CryptoQueen.

🇲🇰 IRL Macedonia: Our Macedonian member center ([link removed]) has received a prestigious award and seen some real world impact from its reporting.

Its Bad Blood documentary ([link removed]) , which exposed an unscrupulous hospital, won the best investigative story award from the Association of Journalists of Macedonia.

🇮🇹 IrpiMedia: Our Italian member center reports ([link removed]) on a neighborhood in Rome that has become a hotbed in a war between organized crime groups.
Join the fight against corruption.
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** MORE CORRUPTION NEWS
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🇨🇩 DRC: Auditors discovered a“mafia network” of Congolese government officials ([link removed]) who orchestrated a mass payroll fraud funneling $800 million to non-existent “ghost workers” every year.

🇮🇷 Iran: The country’s Supreme Leader enriched himself ([link removed]) through international COVID-19 pandemic aid using a pharmaceutical company that he ultimately controlled, according to a report from the anti-corruption organization UNISHKA.

🇺🇸 United States: Four people who once worked for ComEd, a major utility company in Chicago, were found guilty in federal court ([link removed]) of giving bribes to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation. Madigan was not charged in this case, but faces separate racketeering and bribery charges.


** MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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🇨🇴 Colombia: A U.S. court sentenced a former Colombian military intelligence officer ([link removed]) for smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine through Mexico into the U.S.

🇪🇺 Europe: Police in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain arrested more than 100 people ([link removed]) as part of an operation against the ’Ndrangheta mafia.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.

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