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NEW INVESTIGATIONS
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🇦🇫 More on Ghani Family Mining Deal — Last year, OCCRP revealed the brother of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held a hidden 20 percent stake in Southern Development, a subsidiary of a U.S. military contractor that obtained lucrative mineral contracts.
Both the president and his brother denied any wrongdoing.
However, fresh documents obtained by OCCRP raise questions about what Ashraf Ghani knew about the mineral deal, before he was ousted by the Taliban last year. Read the full story. ([link removed])
🌐 The Big Picture: The theory — originally promoted by a Pentagon task force — was that a more robust Afghan mining sector would provide jobs and help to turn the warlords who controlled the mines into business owners.
OCCRP's reporting shows how the mining sector has been exploited by Afghan elites, and undermines the previous government’s claims of transparency.
** PRESS FREEDOM IN RUSSIA
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🇷🇺 The Slow Death of a Legendary Russian Newspaper — A Moscow court revoked the print media license of Novaya Gazeta, essentially the last independent media outlet in Russia.
“The newspaper was killed today,” said Editor in Chief Dmitry Muratov, one of two recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, after the court decision, which he called a “political hit job.”
🔴 A Series of Attacks. Novaya Gazeta is especially well known for its coverage of human rights abuses in Chechnya and for its investigative work. A number of the paper’s journalists have been killed for their reporting. The paper has also faced a steady drumbeat of legal pressure. Most recently, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, some of its reporters fled Russia.
❓ What’s Next? Novaya Gazeta stopped its regular reporting after the invasion of Ukraine out of fear of retaliation — but it may soon lose its web license anyway. Some of its journalists continue to report from abroad for a new outlet, Novaya Gazeta Europe ([link removed]) .
✍️ Our Work. OCCRP is proud to have collaborated on a number of internationally renowned investigations with Novaya Gazeta that exposed corruption in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including this story ([link removed]) on how Putin’s bodyguards were given wealth and land seized from pensioners.
Join the fight against corruption.
SUPPORT OCCRP ([link removed])
** THE OCCRP NETWORK
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🇷🇺 IStories: As Russians increasingly seek out independent information about the Ukraine war, our Russian member center investigates how popular Russian search engine Yandex has steered users toward ([link removed]) sources that support the invasion.
🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center reports on an “international news agency” that feeds news content to pro-government outlets from offices in London ([link removed]) that, Atlatszo revealed, are essentially vacant.
🇦🇹 DOSSIER: The latest magazine edition of our Austrian member center reports on the police investigation of a Vietnamese restaurateur ([link removed]) , and friend of ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, for alleged fraud related to COVID-19 subsidies.
🇱🇧 Daraj.com: Our Lebanese partner reveals fresh details of investigations intoRiad Salame ([link removed]) , the head of Lebanon’s central bank. In 2020, OCCRP and Daraj revealed ([link removed]) Salame has a fortune hidden throughout Europe.
** RESOURCES FOR JOURNALISTS
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"¡Sigan el Dinero!” Every country has its own idiosyncrasies when it comes to requesting public records. In Uruguay, you need to pay a fee for them in person.
In Brazil, you need a VPN to access international arrest warrants, while in Mexico you have to search properties by state.
To help Spanish-speaking journalists, we published this follow-the-money guide detailing how to access records in 19 Latin American countries, as well as the United States, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands. Learn more here. ([link removed])
** MORE IN CORRUPTION NEWS
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Zambia’s Ghost Public Servants: Government ministries in Zambia havepaid over $45 million salaries to 9,800 non-existent employees ([link removed]) , according to a recent audit published by the Office of the Auditor General.
Kyrgyzstan Gov Slammed for Secrecy: Kyrgyz citizens took to social media after the government refused to disclose the buyer of a record $1.1 billion of gold ([link removed]) .
Our partners at Factcheck.kg found out that it was Switzerland that bought the gold.
** MORE IN ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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'Ndrangheta Bust: Italian authoritiesarrested nearly 200 suspected 'Ndrangheta affiliates ([link removed]) , including the mayor of a town in Calabria.
* What’s the ’Ndrangheta? It’s Italy’s most powerful criminal group, and responsible for a sizable chunk of the drug trade in Europe. Read more. ([link removed])
U.S. Drug Seizure in Middle Eastern Waters: The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a ship carrying $20 million worth of narcotics ([link removed]) in the Gulf of Oman, one of the biggest drug busts in the area this year.
The operation was conducted with Saudi Arabia as part of the Combined Marine Forces, a coalition of 34 nations that monitor roughly 3.2 million square miles of international waters.
Record Bust in Saudi Arabia: Authorities in Saudi Arabia seized 46 million amphetamine pills ([link removed]) and arrested eight people, in what is believed to be the country’s biggest drug haul.
The type of drug was not disclosed, but Saudi Arabia is known for being a major hub for Captagon. According to the UNODC, over half of all Captagon seized in the Middle East between 2015 and 2019 was in Saudi Arabia.
** OCCRP EVENTS
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Going to the IPI World Congress in NYC this week? Don't miss the following sessions ([link removed]) with OCCRP network journalists on September 9, 2022.
➡️ "Life on the Press Freedom Frontline" with Roman Anin, editor in chief of our Russian member center IStories. 10 a.m.
➡️ "Newsgathering: Beyond shoe-leather: More options, more challenges" with Ukraine editor Anna Babinets and Rinat Tuhvatshir, co-founder of our Kyrgyzstan member center, Kloop. 11:45 a.m.
🏆 IPI Free Media Pioneer Award: Anna Babinets, editor in chief of Slidstvo.Info in Ukraine, will be receiving this prestigious prize ([link removed]) alongside six other independent Ukrainian media organizations. 5:30 p.m.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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