NEW INVESTIGATIONS

In 2020, as Lebanon’s economy was collapsing, OCCRP and Daraj uncovered evidence of what had long been rumored — the head of the central bank, Riad Salame, held a secret fortune overseas.

Several governments launched probes into Salame for alleged embezzlement and other abuses of office after our investigations were published. He resigned last month. 

Then last week, the U.S., U.K., and Canada jointly sanctioned Salame for allegedly diverting $300 million of the bank’s funds for personal gain. His son and personal assistant, both of whom were implicated in our investigations, were also among those targeted by the measures, which described revelations from OCCRP’s reporting.

This week, we tallied up all of the known Salame-linked assets — roughly $200 million worth — that should be frozen with the addition of the new sanctions.

That includes at least three apartments in Manhattan and extensive real estate holdings in the U.K. 

>> Read the full story

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center analyzes some of the leading figures in the country’s incoming government, which includes ministers accused of corruption.

🇳🇱 Follow The Money: Our Dutch partner reveals that the European Parliament rarely punishes MEPs who fail to disclose gifts and other potential conflicts of interest, despite its pledges to build stronger anti-corruption tools.

🇱🇧 Daraj.Media: Our Lebanese member center reports on the release of Ahmed Douma, an Egyptian pro-democracy activist who was detained in harsh conditions for ten years for participating in anti-government protests.

🇿🇦 Oxpeckers: Our South African member center reports on how ivory and other wildlife contraband seized by authorities can slip back into the black market.

FOLLOW THE MONEY NEWS

🇺🇸 United States: The state of New York is preparing to establish a publicly accessible “ultimate beneficial ownership” (UBO) database next year. This comes as the federal government stalls in instituting a national UBO registry, which would be accessible by various authorities but not the general public. 

• 🙌 Why This Matters: UBO information is key in the fight against corruption, yet making this data publicly accessible is a global challenge. >> Learn more

PRESS FREEDOM NEWS

🇷🇺 Russia: Exiled Russian journalists Elena Kostyuchenko and Irina Babloyan suspect  they were poisoned after experiencing serious yet unexplained health issues that started last October. 

🇨🇳 China: The founder of an independent outlet in the city of Huanggang was arrested on extortion charges after his website, the Hubei New Perspective Site, reported on alleged corruption involving a local official in Hubei province. The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the charges.

CORRUPTION NEWS

🇬🇹 Guatemala: Former diplomat Bernardo Arévalo won the country’s presidency by running on a strong anti-corruption message. He was able to garner roughly 58 percent of the vote despite the ruling party's attempts to ban his candidacy.

🇲🇾 Malaysia: Malaysia’s new prime minister is considering filing additional lawsuits against Goldman Sachs for its alleged role in the 1MDB corruption scandal, where roughly $4.5 billion was stolen from a Malaysian state fund. Goldman Sachs has already agreed to pay $3.9 billion to Malaysia to settle the accusations, but PM Anwar Ibrahim believes the U.S. bank should pay more. 

🇺🇦 Ukraine: NPR spoke with a U.S. special inspector general about how officials can better ensure that U.S. military and humanitarian aid is being properly spent in Ukraine by drawing on lessons learned in Afghanistan.

🇦🇹 Austria: Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been charged with making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry about an alleged corrupt deal with a Russian investor. The 2019 scandal led to the collapse of Kurz’s first government, which was a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party.

🇨🇴 Colombia: Colombian conglomerate Grupo Aval and its bank subsidiary have agreed to pay roughly $80 million to settle accusations that they violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The companies were charged in the U.S. for paying millions of dollars to Colombian officials to secure a construction contract for a 328-mile highway.

ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

🇺🇸 United States: Two dozen people pleaded guilty in the United States for their role in a drug trafficking syndicate that operated out of prison. The group, known as Prison Empire, is believed to be the largest narcotics conspiracy in South Carolina.

EVENTS & AWARDS

➡️ EFA23: OCCRP Co-Founder Paul Radu is speaking at the democracy conference European Forum Alpbach about the role of investigative journalism in the fight against corruption. Thursday, Aug 31, 2023 >>Tickets here

➡️ Online Journalism Awards

• Story Killers: This investigative project led by Forbidden Stories, which exposes the inner workings of global disinformation mercenaries, won the Excellence in Collaboration and Partners Award. 
• Banality of Brutality:  Our reporters used Telegram messages and other visuals to show what life was like in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha during the Russian invasion. The story won the Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling award.