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1. New Investigation
* Canadian Case Exposes Shady Dealings of a Real Estate Developer
2. OCCRP Has Impact
* Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Sanctioned!
3. Anti-Money Laundering News:
* Spanish Banks Unite to Fight Fraud
* Aussie Bank Limits Crypto Transactions
4. Press Freedom News: Ukraine / Cambodia / Uganda
5. Corruption News:
* China's crackdown on hospitals
* Siemens cooperates in Austrian prosecutors' probe
* Pakistani prime minister barred from office
6. Organized Crime News:
* Australian museums possess looted Cambodian artifacts
* UK prepares to outlaw a certain kind of cold calling
** NEW INVESTIGATIONS
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🇨🇦 Canadian Case Exposes Hong Kong Developer’s Corporate Ties to Chinese Criminal Underworld 🇨🇳
[link removed]
Yu Shunhui is a prominent Hong Kong property developer who has cultivated an image as a philanthropist and an avid supporter of the Chinese Communist Party. But his business empire, we reveal, has a darker side that stretches all the way to Canada.
Documents obtained by OCCRP show that Yu owns a company called Everwell Knight Limited, which Canadian authorities say helped launder cash for the alleged organized crime member and self-described loan shark Paul King Jin.
🌐 The Big Picture: Illicit money flows from China have become a key issue in Canadian politics, especially in British Columbia, where real estate and financial transactions can be difficult to trace ([link removed]) . This story shows how dirty money was allegedly moved through the province’s property market.
🤔 Our Data & Sources: This investigation is primarily based on 1) documents filed at the British Columbia Supreme Court by the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office 2) Hong Kong corporate records 3) Interviews with Canadian prosecutors.
>> Read the full story ([link removed])
** OCCRP HAS IMPACT
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🇱🇧 Lebanon: The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have sanctioned former Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salame ([link removed]) for alleged corruption. Salame's secret wealth overseas was exposed by OCCRP and partners in two 2020 investigations.
1) Lebanon's Offshore Governor ([link removed])
2) Offshore Firm Tied To Lebanon Central Bank Governor Sold Stock to Bank He Regulates ([link removed])
In an announcement about the sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department refers to several findings from our investigations, including Salame's use of "shell companies in Panama."
The U.S. also sanctioned Salame's son, Nady, his brother, Raja, and his assistant, Marianne Hoayek, for allegedly helping the banker conceal or move illicit funds.
Join the fight against corruption.
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** AML NEWS
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🇪🇸 Spain: Three of Spain’s largest banks, BBVA, Banco Santander, and CaixaBank, will unify their anti-fraud operations ([link removed]) through a joint business called FrauDfense, which may welcome participation from other banks and companies in the future.
🇦🇺 Australia: The Commonwealth Bank announced that clients will be limited to cryptocurrency transactions of AUS$10,000 ([link removed]) per calendar month in a bid to reduce scams and other financial crimes.
** PRESS FREEDOM NEWS
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🇺🇦 Ukraine: The Committee to Protect Journalists has urged Ukrainian authorities to investigate an assault on anti-corruption journalist Volodymyr Sedov ([link removed]) in the southern city of Ananiv.
🇰🇭 Cambodia: The government ordered internet service providers to block access to the websites and social media accounts ([link removed]) of three major independent media outlets – the Cambodia Daily Khmer, Radio Free Asia, and Kamnotra — that have reported critically on Cambodia’s ruling regime.
🇺🇬 Uganda: Several reporters were recently assaulted by unidentified men ([link removed]) while trying to attend press conferences. The Committee to Protect Journalists says attacks against reporters covering politics have become frequent in the country.
** CORRUPTION NEWS
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🇨🇳 China: Bloomberg reports that Chinese authorities have widened their sweeping anti-corruption probe ([link removed]) into the country’s medical sector. Investigators are rumored to be looking into medical records as far back as 20 years ago ([link removed]) , according to Radio Free Asia.
🇦🇹 Austria: The technology conglomerate Siemens is “cooperating” with public prosecutors’ probe into an alleged fraud scheme that inflated invoices ([link removed]) related to hospital building contracts in the city of Vorarlberg.
🇵🇰 Pakistan: Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan will be barred from holding public office for five years ([link removed]) after being sentenced on corruption charges for three years.
** ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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🇦🇺 Australia: A government-backed investigation found that Australian museums may hold over 100 antiquities ([link removed]) looted from Cambodia.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: The government is preparing to outlaw cold calls ([link removed]) that offer financial services in a bid to protect citizens from telemarketing scams.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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