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1. New Project: Who Bought Dominica Passports?
2. Another SLAPP Against OCCRP. Ukraine Edition
3. The OCCRP Network:

  • Malta: Alleged Corruption in Getting Driver's Licenses
  • Russia: How to Talk about Ukraine War in the Classroom
  • Ukraine: Explainer on Tensions with Poland
4. Follow The Money News: Germany's considers a new financial crime agency
5. Corruption News 
6. Organized Crime News
7. OCCRP's 'Dirty Deeds' Podcast
8. OCCRP Nominated for Awards

DOMINICA: PASSPORTS OF THE CARIBBEAN

🛂 The Big Names Who Bought Dominica Citizenship 🇩🇲

For as low as $100,000, the tiny Caribbean island nation of Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) has sold passports to people from around the world, granting them visa-free access to more than 100 jurisdictions — including the European Union.

This week, OCCRP, the Government Accountability Project, and other media partners revealed some of the big names who purchased “golden passports.” These include: 

  • An Afghan official linked to human rights abuses

  • A Libyan army boss who served under Gaddafi

  • Saddam Hussein’s top nuclear scientist

  • A former Jordanian prime minister, who previously said he would prefer Jordanians to not hold other nationalities


       >> Read the main story <<
 
🧊🏔️ Just the Tip of the Iceberg! Look through all the notable names we found in this interactive database. >> Browse here

🛒 Why Do Countries Sell Passports? Citizenship-by-investment programs, like the one in Dominica, help bring in foreign investment quickly.

But more than 10,000 names appear to be undisclosed and the  revenue Dominica has reported from its passport-for-sale scheme appears to be… off. We explain some of the transparency problems and discrepancies. >> Read here

🌐 The Big Picture: Nothing Dominica is doing is illegal under international law. But golden passports can be powerful tools for misconduct — especially in tandem with anonymous shell companies or secret bank accounts.

The UK, which is Dominica’s former colonizer, recently imposed visa requirements on Dominican travelers, citing “clear and evident abuse” of the country’s citizenship.

Also, providing passports to questionable figures carries a reputational risk that may eventually catch up to the island, according to experts. 

🤔 Our Data and Sources: These investigations are based on government gazettes obtained by the Government Accountability Project from libraries, private collections, a university, and national archives. Learn more about our datasets here. >> Read our FAQ
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ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SLAPP

🇺🇦 Bogus Lawsuit #64 Against the OCCRP Network: Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Semeniuk is suing our Ukrainian member center Slidstvo.Info for a story we reported together in May 2023. 

The investigation uncovered how Semeniuk appeared to act as a proxy for Russian businessman Eduard Apsit — whose companies provided cleaning services to Ukrainian strategic facilities, such as those that deal with railways and airports.

The OCCRP network stands by this report 100 percent. We’ll help Slidstvo.Info fight this lawsuit all the way. >> Read more

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇲🇹 The Times of Malta: Our Maltese partner exposes how foreign minister Ian Borg pressured transport officials to secure driver’s licenses during his previous tenure as transport chief. WhatsApp chats obtained by journalists show that hundreds of people were provided assistance and fast-tracking in getting licenses. The practice was linked to getting votes for the ruling party.

🇷🇺 IStories: Journalists from our Russian member center spoke with people studying history at university. They detailed how they plan on talking about the war in Ukraine with the next generation.

🇺🇦 Kyiv Independent: Our Ukrainian member center explains the increasingly hostile relations between Ukraine and Poland.

💸 FOLLOW THE MONEY NEWS

🇩🇪 Germany: Lawmakers agreed to a proposed law to establish a new agency that will investigate suspicious transactions and other possible financial crimes.

CORRUPTION NEWS

🇪🇨 Ecuador: Seven inmates suspected of being involved in the assassination of a presidential candidate were killed while in custody. The country’s president fired two top officials and the head of the national police in response. 

🇪🇺 European Union: Lawmakers in the bloc are drafting a law aimed at providing stronger protections for journalists and media houses. One of the new rules explicitly prohibits the use of spyware against reporters. 

🇲🇲 Myanmar: The country’s military junta have detained and convicted several prominent officials on accusations of corruption. The crackdown comes as the country struggles to attract foreign revenue following the military coup in 2021.

🇮🇩 Indonesia: Former agricultural minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo is under investigation for allegedly stealing more than $800,000 of government money a week after resigning. Limpo is accused of forcing ministry officials to send him public money, which he used to pay off a car. 

ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

🇧🇷 Brazil: Authorities in Europe and Latin America arrested 16 suspects as part of an operation against a pervasive Balkan organized crime ring, including its alleged leader.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Authorities launched an investigation after gym bags filled with hundreds of kilograms of cocaine were washed ashore in the south of England and the Isle of Wight.

🇪🇺 European Union: The bloc is considering implementing stricter rules around surrogacy as part of a broader anti-human trafficking policy.

🇺🇸 United States: The Treasury Department sanctioned Canadian and Chinese companies, as well as some of their employees, for allegedly producing and distributing fentanyl and other narcotics.

OCCCRP PODCAST

🎧 🇳🇦 Episode 3! Endangered trees are being felled at an alarming rate in Namibia.

Hear from the journalists who tracked rosewood trees cut illegally and overcame maritime secrecy practices to reveal who profited. >> Listen Here

AWARDS
✍️ Daphne Award: Several journalism teams in our network have been nominated for the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, which honors in-depth investigations based on the principles and values of the European Union.

The nominated investigations from our network: The ceremony will be on October 17, 2023.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback. 
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