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Greetings from Amsterdam,
In this edition of OCCRP Weekly, a prominent Romanian political strategist launches an offbeat business with an apparent Russian war propagandist, British politicians take an unusual — and potentially unethical — interest in Northern Cyprus, and a sanctioned Russian spy stands to benefit from confusion over his birthday.
Plus, Cambodia made international headlines this week — in a bad way. It arrested a well-regarded investigative journalist who has spent years reporting on human trafficking facilitated by transnational crime groups. Meanwhile, OCCRP exclusively reported that the Cambodian government has quietly stopped publishing lists of its new citizens, a move that experts warn will make it easier for criminals to exploit the country’s citizenship-by-investment scheme. Let’s break it down:
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Romanian Political Strategist In Business With Apparent Russian War Propagandist
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In Romania, OCCRP and partners found that a prominent political strategist went from helping coordinate the campaign of a former NATO official running for president to launching an aquaculture company with a pro-Russian propagandist in the span of weeks.
The strategist, Rareș Mănescu, and his wife registered the new joint venture on May 31 — the same month Mănescu says he stopped working for Mircea Geoană’s presidential campaign. The couple own one half of the business, while a company co-owned by Aleksei Kozlov, a lifelong fishing fanatic and aquaculture specialist from Russia, holds the other 50 percent. But Kozlov also had a secret life: For years, he spread pro-Russia propaganda under the alias Alex Krepchinksy.
“Alex Krepchinksy” is known for trying to recruit people to the Russian cause after the 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine, and for offering monetary rewards for collecting personal information on Ukrainians. He has been quoted repeatedly on a Crimea-based propaganda website that was sanctioned by the U.S. for its links to Russia’s intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service.
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How We Matched Kozlov to His Alias:
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Photo analysis indicates the person pictured in scores of different images is the same – regardless of whether they were labeled as Kozlov or Krepchinsky.
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Leaked flight records show that Kozlov made several trips to Crimea after Russia annexed the region from Ukraine. There are no records showing a visit by Krepchinsky, even though he told Russian state radio he had visited the war-torn region.
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Did UK Politicians Violate Lobbying Rules With Questions About Northern Cyprus?
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Over the last two years, more than a dozen British politicians have flown to Northern Cyprus in trips organized by Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus — a group pushing for more countries to join Turkey in recognizing the breakaway state. The trips were paid for by benefactors like Turkish Airlines and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.
A handful of those politicians then raised questions in parliament about Northern Cyprus, including the possibility of allowing direct flights to that part of the island and exploring the trade benefits of recognizing its independence. They failed to register their interest in the subject before asking the questions, as is required under parliamentary rules.
The politicians attributed this oversight to slip-ups and clerical errors. But they may have violated lobbying regulations that bar politicians from launching parliamentary proceedings benefitting an entity that has funded a visit or provided hospitality for them in the past 12 months.
A review of parliamentary records shows questions containing the term “Northern Cyprus” have spiked dramatically since the Freedom and Fairness lobby group started taking politicians to Northern Cyprus.
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The Backdrop: Cyprus was divided in 1974, when Turkey’s military took control of the island’s north, where it continues to station troops today. The rest of the island, internationally recognized as the Republic of Cyprus, is controlled by Greek Cypriots.
⚡︎ Reporting Impact: Ian Blackford, a member of the Committee on Standards on Public Life, which advises the prime minister, has written to parliamentary authorities calling for an investigation in light of OCCRP’s findings.
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More Crime and Corruption News
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Outrage as Cambodian Journalist Charged For Social Media Posts
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The arrest of prominent Cambodian investigative journalist Mech Dara this week has led to an international outcry among free press advocates and calls for his release. Dara was charged Tuesday with incitement to provoke “serious social chaos” over a series of social media posts in the days prior. He faces up to two years in prison if found guilty.
Dara’s arrest in in the southern province of Koh Kong comes on the heels of recent U.S. sanctions against Cambodian senator and tycoon Ly Yong Phat — who has been dubbed dubbed the “King of Koh Kong” due to his many business interests and political connections there — for “serious human rights abuse” and human trafficking linked to scam online call centers. These were issues that Dara’s investigative work focused on uncovering. Last year, the journalist was honored by the U.S. State Department for bringing international attention to the plight of victims who were kidnapped by organized crime groups and forced to work in the scam centers.
Over 40 Cambodian and Southeast Asian media and human rights groups signed a statement calling for his immediate release and condemning the case as an attempt to harass a reporter and silence free press.
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Criminals May Benefit As Cambodia Hides New Citizenship Data
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Meanwhile, it’s becoming harder to identify people who purchase citizenship in Cambodia — a development that experts say could make it easier for transnational gangs to operate.
Historically, new citizenships — which Cambodia’s Law on Nationality offers to people who make large investments or donations to the government — have been regularly publicized in a government publication, the Royal Gazette. These announcements have helped researchers and law enforcement identify and track down criminals, who often use additional citizenships to evade arrest and extradition as well as conduct illicit activities.
Now, OCCRP has found that new citizenships are being granted even as their official documentation in the gazette has all but come to a halt.
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Mistaken Birthdate Could Allow Top Russian Spy To Slip Past Sanctions
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The second-in-command of Russia’s security intelligence agency, the FSB, may be able to avoid EU sanctions because of confusion over his age and the spelling of his name.
EU and Switzerland sanctions records say Sergei Korolev, the FSB’s first deputy director, was born in either July or November of 1952, both of which appear to be wrong, according to an investigation by The Kyiv Independent.
Sanctions notices in five other countries, meanwhile, have him recorded as a decade younger, while his name has also been transliterated from Cyrillic with numerous different spellings. According to Ukraine’s presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, this “this leaves wiggle room” for Korolev to possibly evade sanctions.
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OCCRP & Partner Recognized
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Story Killers, a global exposé led by Forbidden Stories with support from OCCRP, has been honored with the IJ4EU Impact Award. The series shed new light on the shadowy world of disinformation mercenaries. The jury said the project stood out for its “focus on the experiences of journalists who risk their safety to report on this perilous industry,” and commended the reporting team for "painting a profound picture of the landscape of disinformation, surveillance and press freedom." Read OCCRP’s stories from the project here.
We’ll have more for you next week.
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P.S. Thanks for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply to this email with feedback, thoughts, or questions.
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