NEW INVESTIGATION

We published another investigation into our 2019 Corrupt Person of the Year, former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Last month, Muscat and over two dozen others were arraigned on graft charges related to a multi-billion-euro contract to renovate and manage public hospitals. They have all pleaded not guilty.

The contract was taken over in 2018 by Steward Health Care, a major U.S. company that recently went bankrupt over unrelated matters.

Leaked emails offer previously unreported insight into the amounts and timing of Steward’s payments of about $8.1 million to Accutor, a Swiss firm implicated in Muscat’s corruption case for consultancy fees it paid to the former prime minister.

This figure included monthly $85,000 fees, which the internal emails show were intended for two consultants employed by Accutor, including one man with high-level political connections.

U.S. Steward was not recommended for charges, and the company has said it “strenuously objects” to any suggestion it gave financial favors to Maltese officials. 

>> Read the full story

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇷🇺 IStories: When an authoritarian government doesn’t like your reporting, you’re probably doing something right. That seems to be the case in Russia, where the government has repeatedly targeted our member center and its reporters.

The latest blow against IStories came this week, when authorities in Moscow issued arrest warrants against its editor in chief and one of its former journalists, accusing them of spreading fake news about the army. 

The case was brought over an IStories interview with a corporal in the Russian Armed Forces who confessed to murdering a civilian in Ukraine. You can learn more about this interview in this YouTube documentary. (Make sure to turn on English captions).

Neither of the IStories journalists –– editor-in-chief Roman Anin, and reporter Ekaterina Fomina — still live in Russia. Both fled the country after the government cracked down on free media following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

But these arrest warrants could complicate international travel for our two colleagues, especially if they ever fly through countries friendly with the Kremlin. OCCRP Weekly will continue to follow this developing story. 

🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center investigated the “Civil Cooperation Forum” (CÖF), a foundation that often takes a critical stance against civil society organizations and members of the country’s political opposition. Reporters revealed that CÖF receives roughly $190,000 a year in public funds from the ruling Fidesz party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

🇳🇱 Follow The Money: Our Dutch partner reports on how a new political party called NL Plan, which promotes stronger ties between the EU and China, has relationships with multiple people and organizations tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

GLOBAL CRIME NEWS

Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’: Despite international sanctions, Russia has been able to export oil to global markets thanks to its “Shadow Fleet,” hundreds of tankers that specialize in deceptive shipping practices (DSPs). Examples of DSPs include sailing close to vessels that aren’t subject to sanctions or assuming the identification credentials of a ship that’s no longer in operation. 

OCCRP spoke with a maritime intelligence firm that has documented how Russia has significantly increased the use of its Shadow Fleet since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Virtual Meeting Software Scam: Cybersecurity experts have published new details about the hackers behind Vortax, which purports to be virtual meeting software but is actually malware.

In order to lure users into downloading the booby-trapped application, a cybercrime actor known as “markopolo” has allegedly used AI-generated content about Vortax on social media.