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August 8, 2025
Hello John,
Eight years on, our Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation continues to have an impact. This week we discussed the project’s long tail with OCCRP co-founder Paul Radu.
Here’s the latest in global crime and corruption:
** Investigations With Impact
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** The Enduring Impact of the Azerbaijani Laundromat
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Last week, a former member of Germany’s Bundestag was convicted ([link removed]) for bribing officials on behalf of Azerbaijan.
The landmark ruling was the latest example of the enduring impact of OCCRP’s Azerbaijani Laundromat ([link removed]) investigation, which revealed a $2.9 billion money-laundering operation and slush fund that was used by the country’s elites and enabled by shell companies registered in the United Kingdom.
Published with over a dozen partners in 2017, the investigation exposed how some of the funds from the so-called Laundromat were used to pay off politicians in Europe in a bid to burnishAzerbaijan’s reputation ([link removed]) as it faced international criticism for systematic human rights abuses. The German lawmaker was one such recipient.
OCCRP co-founder Paul Radu ([link removed]) recalls that the project began with a Signal call from a colleague at Denmark’s Berlingske.
“They said, ‘We have a dataset that might be of interest to you’,” he told OCCRP Weekly.
“I didn’t expect an eight-year long impact, to be honest,” Radu said. “But, the wheels of justice move slowly.”
He notes that the multiple ([link removed]) court cases ([link removed]) stemming from the Azerbaijan Laundromat in recent years have led to more reporting, and further impact.
“We kept the focus and this paid off. This is one of the characteristics of OCCRP and our project: We don’t let go and we keep following, and that’s where you understand the issue in its depth and you can reveal in a meaningful sense to the public what’s going on.”
More broadly, Radu says the reporting helped define “how we understand the criminal services industry.”
“These [systems] were designed ahead of time for money laundering,” he said. “It’s not that the laundromats are an afterthought.”
Yet the stakes for local reporters in Azerbaijan were — and are — high. Just one collaborator — who had recently been released ([link removed]) from prison — chose to work openly under her name.
Journalists in the country continue to face intense persecution, amid an ongoing crackdown ([link removed]) that has seen scores jailed.
Radu notes that the Laundromat’s customers, including oligarchs and kleptocrats alike, have become even more sophisticated in their efforts to silence journalists.
“Now they're using these attack packages that are put together by lawyers, where you have journalists attacked with their reputation, and possibly, building kompromat, then bribery attempts, then court cases, then perhaps violent actions against the journalist,” he said. “So there's an arsenal at the disposal of the kleptocracy.”
However, investigative journalism which exposes wrongdoing is worth it, he believes.
“It might be 10 years from the point where you report it, but it always pays off, and it affects corrupt systems in ways that we sometimes cannot even grasp.”
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** More OCCRP Reporting
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** Five Years On, Beirut Port Blast Probe Shows Signs of Life
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Five years after the explosion that killed over 200 people in Beirut, a long-stalled official investigation into the tragedy may finally be gaining traction.
The probe has been beset by legal challenges and political obstruction. To date, no one has been held accountable.
Yet despite the renewed push for accountability, some obstacles remain.
Read the full story → ([link removed])
** States of Denial: Gulf Astroturfing Operation Uncovered
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A new investigation from OCCRP member center Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) has uncovered a sophisticated online influence campaign on X (formerly Twitter) designed to discredit climate science and downplay the environmental impact of fossil fuels.
Researchers found bot and semi-automated accounts originating in Gulf states boosted three key hashtags: #خدعة_التغير_المناخي (“#climate_change_hoax”), #كذبة_المناخ (“#climate_lie”), and # أجندة_2030 (“2030_agenda).
Posts using these tags spiked around key environmental events, including the Bonn Climate Change Conference and World Environment Day.
Read the full story → ([link removed]) [link removed]
📞 We want to hear from you!
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** More OCCRP Reporting
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* An anti-corruption court in Ukraine has ordered the former governor of Luhansk into pre-trial detention ([link removed]) over suspected corruption in the acquisition of drone and electronic warfare systems in 2024 and 2025.
* Sierra Leone’s largest diamond producer Koidu Ltd has had its freeze order extended ([link removed]) , preventing the sale or disposal of assets, following concern that equipment was being removed from a mining site. The company faces a lawsuit accusing it of environmental and rights abuses.
* Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi resigned last week ([link removed]) to “focus on scientific, teaching, and missionary work." The move comes amid mounting public pressure stemming from allegations about a $20 million land-grab in Tehran.
* Singaporean billionaire Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty to abetting obstruction of justice ([link removed]) in a corruption case involving former Transport Minister S. Iswaran.
* An Egyptian human rights group is calling for urgent international investigation ([link removed]) into alleged torture and deaths in the country’s detention centers and prisons, following three recent deaths at separate facilities.
* Mzia Amaghlobeli, a Georgian journalist and founder of independent media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has been sentenced to two years in jail ([link removed]) for slapping a police officer.
* In Ukraine, concerns remain about Zelensky’s commitment to reform of anti-corruption measures ([link removed]) , with a restored bill retaining a controversial provision which grants sweeping new powers to the prosecutor general. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top anti-corruption agencies have completed a criminal investigation ([link removed]) into a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme at Kharkivoblenergo, a state-owned electricity distributor.
* A British lawyer has been ordered to pay £32,500 ([link removed]) (approximately $42,000) for failing to adequately vet funds linked to the family of Azerbaijan’s former security chief, which were used to purchase expensive property in southern England.
* The U.S. has sanctioned Chinese oil terminal operator Zhoushan Jinrun Petroleum Transfer Co. Ltd ([link removed]) for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.” The company was also at the center of a sanctions evasion network uncovered ([link removed]) in 2020.
* In Italy, a major crackdown on suspected Chinese mafia ([link removed]) networks has led to the arrest of 13 Chinese nationals on charges including drug trafficking, sex and labor exploitation, counterfeiting and money laundering, and possession of weapons.
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