View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]


**
OCCRP REPORTING
------------------------------------------------------------

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands: China gave a local paper ([link removed]) $140,000 ([link removed]) to “promote the truth about China’s generosity and its true intentions” towards the Pacific country, a leaked document and interviews reveal. (Read about our story in the Guardian ([link removed]) ).

🇰🇭 Cambodia: Two of the main figures behind a controversial Special Economic Zone in Cambodia have business ties to Chinese gambling tycoon She Zhijiang ([link removed]) , who is fighting extradition from Thailand to China.


** THE OCCRP NETWORK
------------------------------------------------------------

🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center reports that several hospitals are placing patients who need surgery on secret waiting lists ([link removed]) instead of official ones. This alternative system, critics say, lets hospitals report shorter waiting times — at least on paper.

🌍 ARIJ: Our MENA partner — working with the Google News Initiative — has developed a framework for Arabic-speaking newsrooms ([link removed]) on how to use artificial intelligence in journalism.

🇦🇹 DOSSIER: Our Austrian member center reports on a Vienna-based company that allegedly used questionable data and calculations to certify buildings as more sustainable and climate-resilient ([link removed]) than they actually are.

🇱🇰 Watchdog: Our Sri Lankan partner details the dangerous journey ([link removed]) of a man who boarded a rickety boat with the hope of eventually reaching Canada. An increasing number of Sri Lankans are taking risks like this one to escape the country’s acute economic crisis.
Join the fight against corruption.
SUPPORT OCCRP ([link removed])


** FOLLOW THE MONEY NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------

🇺🇸 United States: A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced legislation that would place greater anti-money laundering requirements on the cryptocurrency industry, ([link removed]) including stricter ‘Know Your Customer’ rules for crypto miners and digital wallet providers like Coinbase.

🇺🇸 United States: USAA Federal Savings Bank was fined $140 million for failing to file more than 3,000 “suspicious activity reports” ([link removed]) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
* Not familiar with Suspicious Activity Reports? Read our FAQ ([link removed]) about these secret documents, which underpinned the FinCEN Files project.

🇮🇳 India: A Delhi court ruled that PayPal’s local subsidiary must adhere to anti-money laundering measures ([link removed]) similar to what many banks are required to follow, including maintaining records of all transactions and verifying the identities of clients.


** CORRUPTION NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------

🇲🇽 Mexico: A group of lawyers have proposed letting citizens collaborate ([link removed]) in corruption-related cases, including presenting evidence in court and disputing the decisions of prosecutors. The lawyers believe that the public will be more invested in the fight against corruption if they have an active role in it.

🇨🇳 China: The Financial Times reports ([link removed]) on Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crusade in the country’s armed forces, after dozens of senior military and political cadres were arrested in recent months.

🇵🇹 Portugal: Prosecutors have requested that bail ([link removed]) for the co-founder of telecommunications firm Altice be set at 10 million euros, the highest in Portuguese history. The former executive has been under house arrest since late July for his alleged involvement in procurement fraud.


** GLOBAL CRIME NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------

🇪🇸 Spain: A fake arms dealer who scammed millions of dollars from clients via bogus weapons contracts has been arrested again on fraud charges ([link removed]) . In 2018, OCCRP exposed Pierre Konrad Dadak's life ([link removed]) as a globe-trotting con man. This new batch of charges indicate that he may be back to old tricks.

🇩🇪 Germany: The European Union Prosecutor’s Office has indicted eight suspects ([link removed]) in connection with an alleged 80-million-euro VAT fraud scheme, involving luxury cars and medical face masks.

🇨🇦 Canada: The National Post reports on how splinters within Montreal organized crime groups have resulted in an upsurge in public violence ([link removed]) , including assassinations.


** ONLINE JOURNALISM AWARDS 2023
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Story Killers: OCCRP was a partner in this Forbidden Stories project that exposed the inner workings of disinformation mercenaries. It has been nominated for an Online Journalism Award in Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships.
2. The Banality of Brutality: OCCRP and Slidstvo.Info, our Ukrainian member center, detailed what it was like to survive the Russian invasion of Bucha. It has been nominated for an Online Journalism Award in Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling category.

The Full List of Nominations ([link removed]) >> ([link removed])
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.

============================================================
Copyright © 2023 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, All rights reserved.
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.