June 6, 2025

Hello John,

In Azerbaijan, the authoritarian government’s relentless crackdown on media continues apace, with dozens of journalists having been detained and imprisoned. This week, we hear from Azerbaijani journalists working clandestinely, or in exile, at great personal risk. 

OCCRP reporters have learned that misogynist influencer Andrew Tate was granted a “golden passport” under Vanuatu’s citizenship-by-investment scheme while facing a high-profile investigation (and subsequent arrest) in Romania.

Rights groups are urging the government of Kyrgyzstan to release two detained journalists from OCCRP partner Kloop, and halt its persecution of the press.

In Georgia, a controversial “foreign agents” law has come into force, prompting further concerns about the shrinking space for media and civil society.

An alleged cocaine kingpin from Albania has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates on a warrant from Ecuador, where he stands accused of drug trafficking. Case filings report he has used the UAE as a money laundering hub.

Read on for the latest in global crime and corruption.

OCCRP Feature

In authoritarian Azerbaijan, journalists are cast as enemies of the state. President Ilham Aliyev retained power in 2024 elections with 92 percent of the vote, bringing him his fifth consecutive term.

Since late 2023, the targeting of journalists has intensified: 28 journalists and media workers have been arrested, with two convicted and jailed and 15 currently on trial. A further 11 await trial.

The crackdown has had the desired chilling effect. Many smaller independent outlets have ceased publishing, or have reduced their output as a result of the detentions.  

Others have been forced into exile and now work anonymously, living in fear that their family members could face persecution by association.  

Among the go-to charges used to persecute journalists is accusations of having undeclared foreign currency, which can attract prison sentences of up to eight years. 

Conditions inside Azerbaijan’s prison system are notoriously grim. In July 2024, one detained journalist penned a letter alleging “systematic torture” in his pretrial detention facility in the capital of Baku.

“Torture continues every week, sometimes every day,” Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli wrote. “Sometimes, one person and sometimes 10-15 people are beaten at once.” 

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture has criticized Azerbaijan for its failure to take action to end  torture in its prison system.

While the crackdown on the press disproportionately affects independent domestic outlets, international organizations have also been forced to shutter offices, and have had their accreditation withdrawn. 

Read the full story →  

More OCCRP Reporting

In December 2022, misogynist online influencer and former kickboxer Andrew Tate was arrested by Romanian authorities on charges including rape and human trafficking, alongside his brother Tristan.

Documents obtained by OCCRP show that he obtained citizenship from the Pacific nation of Vanuatu the same month, as part of the country’s controversial citizenship-by-investment scheme.

Tate has built a significant following in the so-called online “manosphere,” where he espouses extreme misogyny and makes conspicuous displays of wealth. He has previously bragged about having “seven passports.”     

Tate is also facing 21 charges in the United Kingdom, including alleged rape and sexual assault. The two brothers may also be facing federal criminal investigation in the United States, according to a lawsuit filing in the state of Florida.

Read the full story → 

Rights Groups Urge Kyrgyzstan to Free Kloop Journalists

A coalition of human rights groups is urging the Kyrgyz authorities to release two detained journalists from independent outlet Kloop, a longtime partner of OCCRP.

The calls follow a crackdown by the State Committee for National Security at the end of last month, during which eight current and former Kloop staff were detained. 

Videographer Aleksander Aleksandrov and former Kloop contributor Joomart Duulatov have been placed in pretrial detention until July 21, following a closed court hearing on charges of “public calls for mass unrest,” a vague and broad provision frequently used to stifle dissent.  

The latest moves against Kloop are part of a broader crackdown by Azerbaijan authorities over the past few years, targeting those who report on crime and corruption.

Read the full story →

Alleged Cocaine Kingpin Accused of Laundering Cash in UAE

Alleged Albanian cocaine kingpin Dritan Gjika allegedly laundered illicit cash via companies in the United Arab Emirates, according to court documents obtained by OCCRP.

The 48-year-old was arrested in the UAE city of Abu Dhabi recently, on a warrant from Ecuador, where he has been charged with leading a powerful drug trafficking organization. 

Court documents reveal unreported details of operations by the Albanian syndicate, which is alleged to have smuggled drugs from Ecuador to Europe hidden in shipments of bananas. 

Read the full story → 

Georgian NGOs, Media Defy Strict New Foreign Agents Law 

Last weekend, Georgia’s “foreign agents” law came into force. The overbroad and vaguely worded law requires that people and groups receiving money from abroad — or operating under “foreign influence” — will now be required to disclose their funding and activities.

Officials from the ruling Georgian Dream party say the law mirrors the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and is intended to increase transparency.

However, civil society groups and media outlets fear the new legislation will be used to further stifle dissent, as it was in Russia after a similar law was passed there in 2012.

In a joint statement, EU diplomats warned that the law “marks a serious setback for the country’s democracy,” and represents “another aggressive step by Georgian authorities to suppress dissent, restrict freedoms, and further shrink the space for activists, civil society, and independent media.” 

Read the full story → 

Police Suspect Singer Worked With Cocaine Traffickers

An aspiring singer has been detained in Brazil, as police investigate whether she was involved in her brother’s drug trafficking operations.

The artist known as Sônia Sayara, who has a modest online following, performs sertanejo, a Brazilian genre often likened to country music. Court documents obtained by OCCRP reveal her real name is Nélida Sonia Sánchez Garcete.

She and her brother Carlos Rubén Sánchez Garcete (also known as “Chicharõ,” a reference to a style of Paraguayan fried pork), were both born in Paraguay. Chicharõ, a politician (and alleged drug gang leader) was killed in a hail of bullets in August 2021. 

Court records allege that after his killing, leadership of the syndicate was passed on to his sister’s husband, José Roberto de Oliveira Lima, who has absconded along with two other suspects.

Police told OCCRP their investigation, which began in June 2020, uncovered “repeated and high-impact involvement [of the syndicate] in cross-border drug trafficking,” with two aircraft seized as well as large quantities of cocaine and marijuana.

Read the full story → 

More OCCRP Reporting

• A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced former President Almazbek Atambayev in absentia to 11.5 years’ imprisonment on charges including corruption and inciting mass unrest in 2019. He left the country in 2023, having served three years of a previous sentence.

• Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has defended his cabinet amid growing pressure over a scandal involving the Justice Ministry’s acceptance of a bitcoin donation worth nearly $46 million from a convicted criminal.  

• Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai resigned on Tuesday after a parliamentary no-confidence vote, following weeks of public protest over corruption allegations. 

• Civil society groups are calling for stronger anti-corruption measures as negotiations over the proposed European Union Anti-Corruption Directive enter their final phase

• Prosecutors in Brazil are seeking the cancellation of a $180 million carbon credit deal between the Amazon state of Pará and an international climate finance group, arguing it was agreed without proper consultation of Indigenous communities.  

• A lawsuit against a Syrian activist brought forward by a sanctioned Syrian tycoon with ties to the erstwhile Assad regime has been quietly withdrawn. 

• Synthetic drugs including opioid analogs are surging in Europe, a new report says, with new substances driving increased health risks and violence. 

What's On

Leaks in the Age of AI: Paul Radu Joins Harvard Panel 
How can journalists navigate the ethical, technical, and security challenges of leak-based reporting in the age of AI?

On June 12 at 12 PM ET, OCCRP Co-Founder Paul Radu will join global experts Sandrine Rigaud, Mark McGann, and Robert Libetti for a virtual panel hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.

Register here →