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NEW INVESTIGATIONS
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Andrew Tate Partnered in Casinos with Alleged Romanian Organized Crime Figures

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Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have made several bombastic claims about their lifestyle and wealth.

This week, the OCCRP network confirmed one of them...

...they did business with alleged members of a Romanian mafia group 🇷🇴

Who is Andrew Tate? The self-described "king of masculinity" has gained a social media following in the tens of millions with content that promotes misogynist ideals.

He and his brother, Tristan, recently made international headlines when they were arrested for alleged rape in Romania, where the duo spend much of their time.

Andrew Tate casually said in a 2021 podcast that he partnered up with a couple of "brothers, mafia guys" in casinos based in Eastern Europe.

Documents obtained by OCCRP and our Romanian member center RISE Project show that the Tate brothers have had interests in at least six casinos with two alleged organized crime figures known as the Doroftei brothers.

🌐 The Big Picture: Romania’s struggles with governance and organized crime attracted Andrew Tate to the country. The American-born misogynist once said that he chose Romania as his home base in part because it’s a place where “corruption is accessible to everybody.” His recent arrest suggests the Eastern European country is less lawless than he thought.

🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation drew on Romanian company records and prosecution documents as well as dozens of interviews.

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


** CRYPTO REPORTING
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Confidential Report Flags Bitfinex Security Lapses in Huge 2016 Hack
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OCCRP obtained a leaked report about security flaws in Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange that was robbed of $71 million in bitcoin.

Here’s what the document reveals about how the unknown hacker stole over 119,000 bitcoins in just over three hours. We co-published this story with WIRED.

The Bitfinex Heist: The value of Bitcoin plummeted by 20 percent after the August 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange. Last year, U.S. authorities indicted an American couple for allegedly laundering $4.5 billion in Bitcoin stolen from the heist. But the original thief has never been tracked down.

Bitfinex’s owner, iFinex, commissioned Canadian consultancy firm Ledger Labs to look into the hack. They produced a report — a version of which was obtained by OCCRP — that found the following:
* Two of three security keys were stored on the same device, allowing anyone hacking it to gain access to internal systems.
* With control of the two security keys, the hacker was able to obtain security tokens and raise the daily limit on the number of transactions to steal as much bitcoin as quickly as possible.
* The hack probably originated from Poland.

🌐 The Big Picture: iFinex has not released Ledger Lab’s findings to the public despite the hack being one of biggest bitcoin thefts in history.

One money laundering expert said the lack of a public report from Bitfinex "says more than any admission or denial… ever would."

Comment From Bitfinex: Bitfinex told OCCRP the Ledger Labs analysis was “incomplete” and “incorrect,” and that there was “evidence of negligence…on the part of other counterparties that led to the hack.”

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

P.S.: Do you want more cryptocurrency news in the OCCRP newsletter? Reply to this email with your thoughts.


** MORE OCCRP REPORTING
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Belarusian Cleaning Magnate Allegedly Laundered Millions Through Disgraced Latvian Bank ABLV

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Belarusian cleaning tycoon Eduard Apsit is suspected of laundering tens of millions of euros through the notorious Latvian bank ABLV.

Who is Eduard Apsit? He runs a cleaning and facilities management business that spans Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. His companies have won contracts to clean everything from the Kremlin’s concert hall to Belarus’s main railway.

His firms have also been accused of attempted bribery and illegally employing migrants in slave-like conditions.

What is ABLV? It was one of the Baltics’ biggest banks until it closed in 2018 after U.S. Treasury claims of “institutionalized money laundering”.

Latvian authorities noticed ABLV had moved millions of Apsit’s money as loans through offshore firms in what looked like a “laundromat” scheme.

The OCCRP network also discovered that Apsit’s holding company, Facilicom, licensed numerous companies that won state contracts by bidding against each other.

🌐 The Big Picture: Oligarchs and kleptocrats often rely on financial institutions in the European Union and U.S. to clean their money. ABLV was one of the biggest offenders, its unscrupulous business practices appearing at the center of our #TroikaLaundromat and #PandoraPapers investigations. This story shows that, years after it was shut down, the bank’s hidden financial dealings are still coming to the surface.

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

How Venezuela’s Gold is Smuggled Through Brazil to the U.S.

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Little is known about the size of Venezuela’s murky gold trade. Two investigations into smuggling schemes show how the metal was trafficked into Brazil, destined for the U.S., India, and the United Arab Emirates.

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


** THE OCCRP NETWORK
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🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center reports onoutgoing president Muhammadu Buhari’s ([link removed]) unfulfilled promises to fight corruption.

🇱🇧 Daraj: Our Lebanese partner reports on an ongoing debate ([link removed]) over whether aid to Syrian refugees in the country should be disbursed in U.S. dollars.


** OCCRP HAS IMPACT
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🇱🇹 Lithuania: Lithuanian authorities submitted evidence to prosecutors ([link removed]) against nine companies that had been at the center of an OCCRP investigation.

Reporters showed how the firms ([link removed]) violated EU sanctions by falsely presenting Russian and Belarusian timber products as having originated in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Join the fight against corruption.
SUPPORT OCCRP ([link removed])


** MORE JOURNALISM NEWS
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Novaya Gazeta Europe is helping to spearhead a project called “Kidmapping” ([link removed]) that will track down the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported to Russia.

Pegasus spyware was found on the phones ([link removed]) of Armenian journalists, human rights activists, and other public figures.


** MORE CORRUPTION NEWS
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French prosecutors indicted a former vice-president of global soccer body FIFA for "passive corruption" ([link removed]) in relation to bribery allegations involving Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup.

The United Nations Security Council encouraged Iraq’s new government to follow through on plans to combat corruption ([link removed]) in a resolution that backs the country’s fight against terrorist groups.


** MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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Cryptocurrency is now the preferred method of payment ([link removed]) for organized crime groups involved in the fentanyl trade, according to a report by Chainalysis.

Peruvian police seized more than 57 kilograms of cocaine ([link removed]) in packages labeled with Nazi symbols. The shipment was on its way to Europe.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.

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