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The lawsuits against the OCCRP network are piling up. They have little to no chance of winning in court. We stand firmly behind our reporting. But we also know that winning is often not the point.
“Strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs, are filed against journalists like us in order to drain newsrooms of time and money.
Yesterday, the OCCRP network was handed its 42nd SLAPP. This one targeted our Serbian colleagues. Journalists at KRIK are being sued for the third time by Nikola Petrović, the “best man” of Serbian President Aleksander Vučić.
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What’s a ‘Best Man?’
In many Balkan nations, a “best man,” or “kum,” is someone who is considered as close as family, like a blood brother.
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Petrović is upset over this investigation, which exposed his past business partnership with an alleged drug trafficker.
We will not be silenced by legal bullying. KRIK journalists are prepared to see Petrović in court, and OCCRP will support them.
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Have a SLAPP Problem?
Media outlets dealing with spurious lawsuits may be eligible for legal counsel provided by Reporters Shield, an initiative to help journalists fight SLAPPs that OCCRP recently helped to launch.
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🇧🇷 Criminal Gangs Log the World’s Last Brazilwood Trees to Make Violin Bows 🎻 Brazilwood is being driven to extinction by an industry not often associated with organized crime: classical music.
Known for its density and strength, the endangered wood is crafted into bows used to play stringed instruments. But as Brazil’s environmental agency tries to protect Brazilwood trees, organized crime groups are increasingly getting involved in the black market trade.
The Big Picture: Experts say the trade in Brazilwood is more profitable than trafficking cocaine, while penalties for getting caught are far less severe. As a result, Brazilians with few economic opportunities are joining gangs to log the endangered trees.
>> Read the full story
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🇷🇺 IStories: Our Russian member center reports on a controversial landfill project in the Lipetsk region that locals are concerned will poison their water. There is little information available to the public about the company that will carry out the construction.
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🗑️ Russian Garbage Is Dirty Business: In 2020, IStories investigated a different landfill outside Moscow that drew protests from local residents. They found that Arkady Rotenberg, an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, was connected to the beneficiaries of the project.
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🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center analyzes voting patterns in the country’s recent gubernatorial elections. Four states recorded voter turnout above 40 percent, an improvement from federal elections in March, which had the lowest voter turnout since Nigeria’s independence.
🇨🇿 Investigate.cz: Our Czech member center reports on the revolving door between assistants to Members of the European Parliament and private corporations.
🇧🇷 piaui: Our Brazilian partner reports on two prosecutors who allegedly flew on a jet belonging to a businessman convicted of influence peddling.
🇷🇸 KRIK: The New York Times Magazine wrote an in-depth feature on alleged ties between Serbia’s leadership and organized crime groups. Times reporter Robert. F. Worth spoke with the founder of our Serbian member center, and referenced OCCRP and KRIK’s reporting.
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Vanuatu’s government confirmed that the Gupta brothers, the accused masterminds of South Africa’s state capture scandal, are citizens of the Pacific nation. A senior official said Vanuatu will not revoke their citizenship unless they are convicted of crimes.
Belgian MEP Marc Tarbella, a primary suspect in a sprawling EU corruption scandal known as Qatargate, says he plans to return to his position at the end of May.
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MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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Spanish police seized almost 1.5 tons of cocaine in weekend raids targeting a Colombian cartel.
Fishermen affected by climate change could turn to piracy as warmer sea temperatures affect fish populations, researchers in Macau and the United States have warned.
European authorities announced that they seized 11,000 stolen cultural artifacts last year.
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P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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