NEW INVESTIGATIONS

After losing more than $13 million to an alleged scam, the Hong Kong company Ming Global commissioned private investigators to look into the matter.

The probe led them to convicted fraudster Javeed Matin, who investigators say helped launder the funds taken from Ming Global. 

They also found that bank accounts used in the alleged fraud had sent payments to Matin’s longtime friend...

...Shibli Rubayat ul Islam, the chairman of Bangladesh’s capital markets regulator.

🌐 The Big Picture: Rubayat ul Islam has become the face of Bangladesh's push for foreign investment. But the global investor community was likely unaware, until now, that he has been accused of receiving funds from accounts linked to a massive fraud scheme. 

>> Read the full story

Leaked records show that Anton Obolashvili, an MP in Georgia’s ruling party, failed to declare two luxury apartments in Dubai worth a combined $1.2M — a violation of Georgian law.

Obolashvili attributed the omission to “human error” and has promised to include the properties  in next year’s declaration.

🌐 The Big Picture: Obolashvili is hardly the only Georgian public official to violate this law. Over half of the declarations that the Civil Service Bureau reviewed last year had missing or incorrectly listed assets, according to Transparency International.

There is little deterrent to submitting an incomplete declaration. The maximum penalty is a fine of 20 percent of the official’s monthly salary, or a minimum fine of 500 Georgian Lari — about $195.

>> Read the full story

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇺🇦 Kyiv Independent: Our Ukrainian member center reports on why the military is facing acute shortages of ammunition. One reason is that EU governments and their weapons industries have been hesitant to take on the financial risks of ramping up arms production.

🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center compiled a list of the 100 richest Hungarians, whose wealth has increased twelvefold since 2002, when Atlatszo first started tracking them. 

🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center explains how the murder of a prominent Cameroonian journalist has chilled public scrutiny of the current government.

CORRUPTION NEWS

🇪🇺 European Union: In its annual report on citizens’ attitudes towards corruption, the bloc found that 70 percent of respondents believe corruption is prevalent in their respective countries. Greek citizens topped the list at 90 percent, whereas only 13 percent of Finnish respondents said corruption was endemic in their government.

🇭🇳 Honduras: The UN is evaluating the feasibility of establishing an “international, impartial, independent and autonomous mechanism” against corruption in the country. Honduran authorities said they would cooperate with the UN initiative.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: The Labour Party will support a global anti-corruption court, according to its shadow foreign secretary, who said he’s “determined to clean up the London laundromat.” 

🇷🇸 Serbia: The United States sanctioned the head of Serbia's intelligence agency, Aleksandar Vulin, for his alleged role in “transnational organized crime, illegal narcotics operations, and the misuse of public office.” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić claimed his ally was being sanctioned because of his close ties with Russia.

ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

🇵🇭 The Philippines: Filipino and Australian authorities rescued 16 victims of child abuse, in what is believed to be a record for a single police operation. 

🇧🇷 Brazil: Federal authorities announced the launch of "Operation Vanglória" to investigate the laundering of illegally mined gold from neighboring Guyana through shell companies.

OCCRP EVENTS

Russia’s Alpine Assets: OCCRP Publisher Drew Sullivan will testify at a U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing that will examine Switzerland’s role in laundering Russian money and facilitating sanctions evasion.

🗓️ July 18, 2023
⏰ 1:00 p.m. EDT
The hearing will be live streamed here.

Revealing and Reining in the Professional Enablers of Corruption: Did you miss the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium’s recent workshop? Leaders from civil society, government, investigative journalism, and the private sector discussed forward-looking strategies to reduce enabling behavior and unlock greater accountability.

You can watch it here.