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Greetings From Amsterdam,
When you’re a major industry player, you can set your own rules.
And smaller companies will likely comply out of fear of being frozen out of the market.
That’s what appears to have happened in the timber sector of Romania, the home of Europe’s last remaining natural forests.
More on that below. But first, we wanted to invite you to join one of our most popular events:
Crypto, SLAPPs, and Dark Money: OCCRP’s Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu Discuss the Year Ahead in Global Crime and Corruption
Wednesday, December 14 at 11 AM EST / 5 PM CET
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OCCRP Co-Founders Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu will share insights about the year ahead in the constantly evolving world of organized crime and corruption. There will be time for questions from the audience at the end.
To join this event, you will need to make a donation. Access to our webinars is just one of the benefits you’ll receive as a member of our Accomplice program.
Now, here’s the latest in global crime and corruption:
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For more than a decade, Eastern Europe’s largest wood processor has demanded its Romanian suppliers provide it with free extra wood.
This practice netted the Austrian-based company HS Timber — formerly known as Holzindustrie Schweighofer — an estimated $34 million of unrecorded timber.
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📈 Market Domination: If the free extra wood was not delivered, HS Timber Group would mark down the length of the logs and refuse to pay full price for them, according to documents obtained by OCCRP.
Suppliers said they complied because HS Timber is such a powerful player, they feared they would be frozen out of the Romanian wood industry.
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🌐 The Big Picture: Our investigation raises fresh questions about the sustainability of HS Timber’s global supply chain, much of which depends on wood from Romania, the home of Europe’s last remaining natural forests. 🌳
>> Read the full story
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Join the fight against corruption.
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In August, we revealed that a woman pretending to be a member of the Rothschild family banking dynasty was invited to Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where she met former President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle.
Today, we reveal another key detail about the self-confessed grifter, Inna Yashchyshyn…
…She allegedly owed a Russian mobster more than $150,000.
🌐 The Big Picture: How did a self-confessed grifter, who was being pursued by the Russian mob, get an invite to mingle with a former president?
Our stories on Yaschyshyn raise serious questions about security at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which has hosted leaders from around the world.
>> Read the full story
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The EU’s Return to the Shadows. A judgment by the EU Court of Justice, which ruled that corporate ownership registers do not need to be publicly accessible, will help the criminal services industry and hurt journalists trying to expose money laundering and other financial crimes.
“The European Court of Justice has just done more to help organized crime and dark money flows than the worst criminal could manage,” said OCCRP Publisher Drew Sullivan.
Several OCCRP investigations that exposed high-level corruption are based on “ultimate beneficial ownership” (UBO) data. Our award-winning OpenLux project, for example, is likely no longer possible in Europe.
Please read and share this page, which explains why UBO data is such a critical tool in helping investigative journalists expose corruption.
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In the world of “libel tourism,” the United Kingdom is a prime destination for ultra wealthy people looking to silence journalists and other critical voices.
British parliamentarians have yet to take meaningful action to reform the country’s SLAPP-friendly legal system. But there appears to be some signs of momentum against SLAPPS:
Lawyers Warned. The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) warned the country’s solicitors to stop filing SLAPPs against journalists and activists on behalf of their clients.
“Representing your client’s interests does not override public interest obligations, so when solicitors cross the line into SLAPPs, we will take action,” Paul Phillip, the SRA’s chief executive.
Anti-SLAPP Legislation Recommendations. Several NGOs and members of the media submitted an open letter to U.K. Minister of Justice Dominic Raab, who is supposed to be drafting a proposal to tackle SLAPPs, detailing key provisions for such a law.
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Iraq Recoups Stolen Funds: The Iraqi government announced that it recovered roughly $125 million of the $2.5 billion embezzled from its tax authority in just one month, in what amounted to one of the largest thefts in the country’s history.
Bolsonaristas Ordered to Repay Legal Fees: A court ruled that outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s coalition must pay roughly $4 million for filing a “bad faith” lawsuit aimed at overturning October’s presidential election results.
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MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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‘Super Cartel’ Busted: Authorities in Europe and the UAE announced they had dismantled Bosnia’s “Tito and Dino clan," which allegedly controls one third of Europe’s cocaine trade.
Piracy Hotspot Cools Down: The Gulf of Guinea has seen a steady decline in piracy incidents compared to the previous year, according to a U.N. report. The U.N. warned, however, that the drop may be a reflection of a change in tactics of criminal groups.
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Next Week is the International Anti-Corruption Conference: The OCCRP team will be out in full force at the IACC, offering solutions and connecting with allies in the international fight against corruption.
Can’t make it to Washington, D.C.? You can attend online. Register here.
For media interviews and meetings, please contact [email protected].
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P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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