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Greetings from Amsterdam,
Welcome to the OCCRP newsletter, where we unpack vast money laundering schemes with geopolitical consequences in fewer than five hundred words. Or at least that’s what this week’s edition will try to accomplish.
Do you remember the Azerbaijani Laundromat? Our 2017 investigative project exposed a $2.9 billion money laundering scheme that Azeri political elites used to hide massive amounts of wealth and buy influence throughout the West.
It’s probably a top five OCCRP investigation in terms of real-world impact. European authorities have seized millions of euros worth of assets linked to the Laundromat. And politicians who allegedly received bribes through the scheme in exchange for helping whitewash Azerbaijan’s human rights record have faced charges.
Now, an Azerbaijani family connected to Laundromat companies is back in the news. Yesterday, U.K. authorities announced they had frozen 22 London properties that lawmaker Javanshir Feyziyev and his wife are suspected to have bought with “the proceeds of unlawful conduct.”
The details of these frozen properties are still rolling in. But we do know that Feyziyev’s family was previously under scrutiny by the U.K.’s National Crime Agency for holding millions of pounds in bank accounts that the agency said had come from the Azerbaijani Laundromat.
Feyziyev and OCCRP have a history. After we published our Azerbaijani Laundromat project, he sued us for libel in a case that was eventually settled on agreed terms. The former lawmaker continues to categorically deny involvement in money laundering or any unlawful activity.
You can read more about the recent seizure here.
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More on the #AzerbaijaniLaundromat: If you’re unfamiliar with the Azerbaijani Laundromat, or the European MEPs entangled in the scandal, check out our award-winning reporting.
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Now, for the latest in global crime and corruption:
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🇧🇾 In ‘False Transit’ Loophole, Russia’s War Machine Is Supplied Through Kazakh Companies and Belarusian Warehouses 🇰🇿
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Despite being the most sanctioned country on earth, Russia still finds ways of obtaining key goods made in Europe. Belarus and Kazakhstan have both played a role in this shadowy supply chain.
This investigation reveals the inner workings of sanction evasion schemes that employ a tactic known as “false transit.”
Leaked Russian customs data shows how one company, Ostec, benefited from the false transit loophole after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As you can see, business people and companies tied to Ostec’s network helped order high-tech equipment using a company in Kazakhstan, a country that can more readily conduct business in Europe compared to Russia.
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The goods were then sent to Belarus — a country sanctioned to a lesser extent than Russia — where they were to be stored temporarily before being sent to Kazakhstan. At least that’s what it said on paper. In reality, the supplies were rerouted to the military contractor Ostec in Russia.
🌐 The Big Picture: This investigation shows how easily sanctions can be circumvented in a globalized economy. In this case, Russia is aided by the Eurasian Economic Union, a free trade agreement that has quietly enabled the Kremlin to access Western markets via its unsanctioned neighbors.
>> Read the full story
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🇰🇪 Bitter Fruit: Kenyans Sue Pineapple Producer for Alleged Torture and Murder
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About an hour outside of Nairobi, public roads run through a 8,000 acre pineapple plantation, which community members have been using for centuries to reach the town of Thika.
That farm is owned by the multinational Del Monte, the largest exporter of Kenyan produce to the world, and one of the East African country’s biggest employers.
At the end of December, a civil claim was filed against Fresh Del Monte by a group of human rights organizations on behalf of 10 individuals who alleged they were stabbed, stoned, tortured, and raped by Del Monte guards.
OCCRP spoke with the family of a man whose body was found outside the Del Monte plantation.
>> Read the full story
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Join the fight against corruption.
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🇸🇮 Oštro: Our Slovenian member center launched a new project called “Zvezoskop” — or “Relationscope” — that tracks the professional and personal connections of the country’s top government officials and politicians.
You can browse the data in English here.
🇲🇹 Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation: Our Maltese partner helped report another investigation into Konrad Mizzi, the disgraced health minister at the heart of multiple corruption scandals that led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. In this story, reporters reveal how Mizzi’s ministry sent 400,000 euros to a company set up by Muscat’s former chief of staff.
🇵🇬 InsidePNG: Last month, OCCRP and our Papua New Guinean member center uncovered details about a China-born businesswoman who was arrested for her alleged involvement in a plot to fly methamphetamines from Papua New Guinea to Australia.
According to subsequent court filings, she told her co-conspirator to send money to an Australian bank account in order to obtain a visa. This week, OCCRP and InsidePNG reveal that the bank account is under the name of PNG’s former migration chief.
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🇪🇺 The HQ of Europe’s New AML Agency: Yesterday, the European Union announced that the bloc’s new anti-money laundering authority will be based in Frankfurt, Germany. Brussels selected Frankfurt from a shortlist of Rome, Vienna, Vilnius, Rīga, Madrid, Brussels, Paris, and Dublin.
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🇨🇾 Cypriot Journalism Has Impact: Cyprus’s anti-graft agency said it would look into corruption allegations made against former President Nicos Anastasiades by investigative journalist Makarios Drousiotis in his book "Mafia State."
🇫🇷 Sarkozy Sentence Lightened: A Parisian appeal court ruled that former French President Nicolas Sarkozy should only face six months under house arrest, with six-months suspended, instead of the full year he was originally sentenced in 2021 for violating campaign finance laws in 2012.
🇧🇾 The New Belarusian “Democracy”: Belarus is preparing to hold elections for the first time since 2020, when President Alexandr Lukashenko won his sixth term in office, sparking mass protests from citizens who questioned the results. But the elections will hardly threaten Lukashenko’s rule over the country, nor the immense influence of his inner circle. OpenDemocracy explains how the new “All-Belarusian People’s Assembly” will ensure the future of Lukashanko’s totalitarian regime.
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🚫 Donkey Skin Trade Banned: The African Union has banned the trade of donkey skin, the key ingredient in the Chinese elixir known as “ejiao,” which is believed to counteract signs of aging and low libido. The ban aims to curb the rise in theft and trafficking of donkeys, which local communities rely upon for farming and transporting goods.
🦹 LockBit Over? Europol announced that law enforcement agencies from 10 countries have dismantled LockBit, a Russia-based hacker group that ran one of the world’s most prolific ransomware services.
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🌎 Gaza Report: International media continue to cite our recent report on the rising cost to flee Gaza via the Rafah crossing, the only way out of the enclave since Israel began bombarding Gaza in October. In Spain // In France // In Israel // In Portugal
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🏆 NarcoFiles: Our 2023 project on organized crime in Latin America has been shortlisted for a Sigma Award, which honors the best in data journalism.
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P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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