NEW INVESTIGATIONS

Albanian organized crime is flourishing in Australia. One group, according to Australia’s top criminal intelligence agency, is led by a powerful politician in the Balkans...

...Tom Doshi, a longtime ally of Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Intelligence reports reviewed by OCCRP claim that Albanian criminal networks, like the one Doshi is suspected of heading, have become adept at exploiting Australia’s immigration system. 

🌐 The Big Picture: Doshi has long been accused of corruption and violence in his native Albania, where he served as a member of parliament before stepping down after a series of high-profile scandals. But his alleged ties to organized crime in Australia have never before been publicly revealed. (Doshi has not been charged with any crimes in Australia and denies any wrongdoing.)

🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation is based on documents from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and reports from local police forces.

>> Read the full story

JOURNALISM NEWS

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇷🇺 IStories: Our Russian member center reports on the political ascent of Alexey Dyumin, a former bodyguard of Vladimir Putin, the current governor of Tula, and the man rumored to be the country’s next defense minister.

🇱🇧 Daraj.Media: Our Lebanese partner republished a story about the violence and repression Coptic Christians face in Egypt. The journalist, Patrick George, was arrested in Egypt for this report when it was originally published in 2019.

🇻🇪 Armando.Info: Our Venezuelan partner reports on how the government’s political allies have profited from a program that replaced artisanal mining with industrial-scale operations.

🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center reports the details of a high-profile legal feud between shipping magnate Gabriele Volpi and his son over family assets worth billions of dollars.

CORRUPTION NEWS

🇦🇺 Australia: A prominent public official says he faced threats and other acts of reprisal after reporting alleged corruption in the Queensland government.

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan: Just hours after Kyrgyzstan’s head of national security declared that no company in his country had violated U.S. sanctions against Russia, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against four Kyrgyz firms for doing just that.

🇸🇬 Singapore: A senior minister was arrested on allegations of corruption in the city-state that, while not a liberal democracy, has a reputation for clean governance. 

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan authorities detained a prominent opposition leader for allegedly supporting Fetullah Gülen, an exiled Turkish cleric who President Erdoğan blames for plotting a failed coup attempt in 2016. The Azerbaijani and Turkish governments are close allies, especially when it comes to security issues.

ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

🇨🇳 China: Three U.S. fashion designers are suing Chinese retailer Shein, claiming the fast-fashion giant has violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a U.S. law typically used to prosecute organized crime groups.

The plaintiffs say Shein has committed such egregious copyright infringement that it amounts to racketeering — a crime that broadly refers to businesses that benefit from illegal activity.

🌎 Global: A new study found that people in countries plagued by organized crime are more likely to view bribery, tax evasion, fare dodging on public transport, and welfare fraud as justifiable crimes.