Greetings from Sarajevo, 

For years, OCCRP and our colleagues at KRIK in Serbia investigated “Group America,” a powerful U.S.-Serbian crime syndicate with rumored ties to intelligence agencies. This week we got some unexpected news about the group’s leader: he’s been charged with defrauding the U.S. government. 

Group America, led by Mileta Miljanić, has been accused of assassinating politicians, dismembering enemies, and trafficking tons of cocaine. Now it seems Miljanić’s application for millions of dollars of COVID-19 bailout funds — allegedly through a company controlled by an associate of the Gambino crime family — will see him confined to a New York jail. 

Follow this space for updates to see what happens to Miljanić and his gang.

Now, for the latest in global corruption:

OCCRP REPORTING

🇰🇬 A Mysterious Museum Fire in Bishkek 🇰🇬  Despite cover-up attempts by the authorities, OCCRP and our Kyrgyz member center Kloop reveal that hundreds of artifacts were destroyed by a fire at the National Historical Museum. 

Some of the lost items include relics from the Soviet era and a number of 19th century books. Our Kyrgyz reporter obtained photos of many of the burnt exhibits.

This is actually OCCRP’s second story about the Bishkek museum fire. Our first one, published last year, exposed the mismanagement around the blaze, including the abrupt decision to bury a unique mummy from an exhibit. 

🇷🇺 The Partner of Putin’s Daughter 🇷🇺 Little is known about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters. But last week, our award-winning Russian partner IStories and Germany’s Der Spiegel uncovered new details about Putin’s youngest, who has been in a long-term relationship with the former director of the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich. 

For more information on Putin’s secretive daughters, read this OCCRP report written by a well-connected Russian journalist.

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇨🇿 Investigate.cz: Our Czech member center reports that a debt collector appears to have not paid a major health insurance company money he retrieved from their clients. The insurance company, VZP, was unusually accommodating, and did not file a criminal complaint against him. 

🇰🇬 Kloop: A journalist from our Kyrgyz member center gave a TED Talk about the power of cross-border investigative journalism. 

🇺🇦 Slidstvo.Info: Our Ukrainian member center visited several villages in the Kherson region that were liberated from Russian forces. There, they spoke with locals about what it was like to live under occupation.

🇰🇿 Vlast.Kz: In January, Kazakhstan completely shut off access to the internet in response to historic anti-government protests. Our member center spoke with experts who explained the legal and economic consequences of this decision.

🇹🇲 Turkmen.News: Our Turkmen member center reports on authorities sudden removal of air conditioning units from apartments on the first and second floors of buildings on major streets.

🇿🇦 Mail & Guardian: Our South African member center reports that the state-owned utility company Eskom will make even deeper power cuts due to poor infrastructure. 

Corruption and mismanagement involving Eskom has been the focus of multiple OCCRP investigations as part of our #StateCapturePapers project.

OCCRP IN NEWS

🇦🇪 Dubai Uncovered: Following #DubaiUncovered, an investigative project involving OCCRP, some European Parliament members have suggested the United Arab Emirates should be blacklisted in a similar manner as North Korea and Iran.

🇱🇧 The Son of a Central Banker: Ahead of Lebanon’s elections, the New York Times cited our recent investigation into the son of the country’s central bank governor in this report on the pervasiveness of corruption and nepotism in Lebanese politics. 

In case you missed it, we exposed last week how the son of Lebanon’s central bank governor, Riad Salame, moved $6.5 million out of the country as everyday citizens were blocked from withdrawing their savings. Read it here.

🎙️ TRACE Podcast: Two OCCRP team members appeared on “Bribe, Swindle, and Steal,” a podcast on financial crime run by the due diligence firm TRACE International. OCCRP Publisher Drew Sullivan spoke about our unique journalism model, while Senior Producer Matt Sarnecki spoke about his documentary, “The Killing of a Journalist.”

PRESS FREEDOM NEWS

Kyrgyzstan Targets Our Colleague: The founder of our Kyrgyz partner, TemirovLive, has long been a thorn in the side of Kyrgyzstan’s politicians. Now, they’re taking revenge: The government has annulled his passport, potentially stripping him of his Kyrgyz citizenship. 

Foreign Policy Hosts Discussion: OCCRP Deputy Editor in Chief Miranda Patrucic spoke on a panel alongside the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists about the dire need for digital security.

BIG EVENTS

RightsCon — OCCRP will be at the RightsCon summit, which focuses on “human rights in the digital age.” You can register for free until today, May 23. Here are some of the events we’ll be participating in:

• Tech Demo of OCRRP Aleph: the tool that turns data into leads for follow-the-money investigations

• Investigative journalism around the world: a global tour of the best stories

• Fact-checking: an effective tool to train future investigative reporters

World Justice Forum — OCCRP's Central Europe Editor Pavla Holcova will join the World Justice Project to discuss how investigative journalism advances the rule of law. Tuesday, May 31. Register here.