NEW INVESTIGATIONS

La Liga, the main football league in Spain, signed a sponsorship contract with Iranian telecom company MTN Irancell. The deal entitled La Liga to a cut of the profits the Iranian telecom company made from Iranian fans watching Spanish soccer.

But getting money out of Iran, a heavily sanctioned country, isn’t easy. Here’s how Dominica’s “citizenship-by-investment” program made it possible: 

• Documents show an intermediary with a “golden passport” from the Caribbean island nation set up a shell company in Hong Kong.

• This company transferred at least one payment from Iran to La Liga in an apparent bid to evade financial oversight.

🌐 The Big Picture: This investigation shows how “golden passports” not only allow visa-free access to much of the globe — they can also benefit those conducting international business. 

>> Read the full story

Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji, a prominent Fijian businessman who operated a major network of pharmacy companies, was sentenced to prison in New Zealand this August for illegally importing at least $2.9 million worth of pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical of methamphetamine.

The conviction reveals the Pacific island’s growing role as an international drug trafficking hub.

🌐 The Big Picture: Umarji escaped arrest for years thanks to what Fijian and international law enforcement say was an unwillingness by the previous authoritarian government to seriously tackle meth and cocaine trafficking.

Now, Fiji’s new government is investigating donations that Umarji and his family made to the previous ruling party and possible connections to top law enforcement officials.

🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation is primarily based on company records from the Pacific Islands, New Zealand court documents, and interviews. 

>> Read the full story

A fight outside of a beachside bar in Malta ended fatally after a man was stabbed 28 times. Three of the other men in the brawl — two brothers and their cousin — were arrested for murder.

The OCCRP network revealed that the incident was tied to an alleged prostitution ring of a previously unknown gang in Romania’s criminal underworld.

🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation is primarily based on court records, interviews, and other public records from Malta and Romania.

>> Read the full story

OCCRP IN THE NEWS

🇮🇳 India’s Financial Regulator Reads Our Reporting! The Securities and Exchange Board of India asked OCCRP for the records we used in our investigation into the Adani Group, one of India’s largest companies. We declined. Our organization does not share any documents beyond what is published. 

🇪🇺 EU Reads Our Reporting! The European Commission said it will review visa rules for five Caribbean states that sell citizenship, including the country of Dominica. 

The bloc’s statement comes roughly a week after OCCRP and partners published Dominica: Passports of the Caribbean, which revealed several politically connected people who bought passports from the tiny island nation. 

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇳🇱 Follow The Money: Our Dutch partner is compiling a database of all misconduct allegations made against members of the European Parliament. Reporters are asking readers to send tips about accusations of corruption — especially those on the local level — in order to ensure the database is comprehensive. 

🇷🇺 IStories: Our Russian member center reports on a Ukrainian hacker group that obtained data from Alfa Bank, the largest private financial institution in Russia. A source in the group told IStories that they might make the entire client database publicly available. 

🇫🇷 Forbidden Stories: Our French partner continues the reporting of Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno, who was killed after accusing construction companies of illegally extracting sand and rock in northern Colombia. A year after Moreno’s murder, journalists have uncovered evidence that backs up his suspicions.

💸 FOLLOW THE MONEY NEWS

🇺🇸 United States: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed implementing strict reporting rules on transactions involving cryptocurrency mixers which are platforms that add extra anonymity to crypto deals for a fee. 

The U.S. government made the proposal after reports alleged that Hamas used cryptocurrencies to finance its attack on Israel.

CORRUPTION NEWS

🇨🇳 China: The former chairman of the Bank of China, Liu Liange, was arrested for allegedly granting illegal loans, taking bribes, and bringing banned publications into the country. Liu is one of the country’s most prominent bankers to be targeted in China’s sweeping anti-corruption probe into the financial sector.

🇺🇸 United States: New York University hosted a panel of legal experts who discussed anti-corruption enforcement in the country, which faces more obstacles in light of a 2016 Supreme Court decision that narrowed the definition of bribery involving public officials.

GLOBAL CRIME NEWS

🇸🇬 Singapore: The country’s financial regulator will conduct an on-site inspection of the local office of Credit Suisse after it was revealed that the Swiss bank was one the institutions used in a $2 billion money laundering scandal. 

🇧🇪 Belgium: A court sentenced the leader of a criminal group that smuggled around 10,000 people from the European Union into the United Kingdom, charging $3,600 to $7,000 a head.