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Greetings From Amsterdam,

We have two new investigations to share this week, and both of them show how politically-connected elites, including Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, use offshore companies to hide their financial activity.

This newsletter also contains important stories from OCCRP member centers, and an exciting update related to our recent story about a Bangladeshi politician’s New York real estate empire.

Here we go 🚂


** NEW INVESTIGATIONS
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🇦🇿 Son of Former Azerbaijani Oil Official Owns Luxury London Flat 🇬🇧 ([link removed])
Since it came on the market, a flat worth over $20 million in Grosvenor Square, one of London’s most expensive areas, has been owned by an anonymous firm.

The shareholders of this mystery company were concealed because it was incorporated on the U.K. island of Guernsey, where corporate ownership data is not public.

But a new transparency law in the U.K. has removed this layer of secrecy, allowing OCCRP to reveal the man behind this luxury London flat: The son of the longtime president of SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state oil company.

>> Read the full story ([link removed])

🌐 THE GLOBAL CONTEXT 🌐

🇦🇿 Why This Matters in Azerbaijan: SOCAR, the main steward of Azerbaijan’s enormous oil wealth, has repeatedly been accused of secrecy, unexplained financial dealings, and enabling the enrichment of insiders. Previous OCCRP investigations, like this one, have revealed outright corruption.

SOCAR’s longtime president Rovnag Abdullayev, who was removed from his position last year, made a modest official salary. His son Rashad, who claimed on LinkedIn to have begun his career at a SOCAR affiliate when he was just 16, acquired the flat at the age of 25.

So where did Rashad obtain the 17.3 million pounds he used to buy this London apartment? It’s worth noting that this is not the first time ([link removed]) Rashad has been linked to expensive assets.

🇬🇧 Why This Matters in the U.K.: London real estate has long been a top investment opportunity with few questions asked, attracting illicit money from around the world. The harms of this flood of foreign cash are often the focus of political debate in the U.K., especially when it comes to the topic of affordable housing.

What’s less debatable is that corporate secrecy laws have prevented the public from fully realizing how much of London’s real estate is owned by foreigners with wealth of dubious origins.

🌎 Why This Matters For the World: This investigation was made possible by a new U.K. law passed last year, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act. It requires overseas entities with property in the United Kingdom to declare their “ultimate beneficial owners.” The deadline to declare was January 31.

Without this law, the owner of this luxury flat would have likely remained a secret. This is why public access to “ultimate beneficial ownership” data is so critical in the fight against corruption.
🇨🇭 Credit Suisse Banked Abramovich Fortune Held in Secret Offshore Companies ([link removed])

Leaked documents reveal details of how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich banked and did business with Credit Suisse.

The Swiss bank even loaned over $300 million to offshore companies controlled by the former Chelsea FC owner.

🌐 The Big Picture: This investigation shows how a sanctioned oligarch was able to bank his fortune with global financial institutions.

Credit Suisse was not the only one — UBS and Barclays held at least $940 million for Abramovich, while Deutsche Bank and Citibank also granted his companies loans.

>> Read the full story ([link removed])
Join the fight against corruption.
SUPPORT OCCRP ([link removed])


** THE OCCRP NETWORK
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🇷🇴 Context.ro: Our Romanian member centerreports on a former government minister ([link removed]) , who appears to have requested bribes from mayors in exchange for access to public funds.

🇲🇩 RISE Moldova: Our Moldovan member center’s most-read story in 2022 was aboutMoldovans who joined the Russian mercenary group Wagner ([link removed]) in their fight in Ukraine.

🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center reports on how an acute fuel shortagehas forced drivers to turn to the black market. ([link removed])


** OCCRP HAS IMPACT
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🇧🇩 Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission is reviewing OCCRP’s recent investigation ([link removed]) into a prominent Bangladeshi politician, who has several unreported properties in New York City.

You can read our investigation here. ([link removed])


** OCCRP EVENTS
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Global Financial Integrity Conference: OCCRP Publisher Drew Sullivan will discuss the role investigative journalists can play in exposing illicit money flows.

February 8: Join in DC or via Zoom call ([link removed])


** OCCRP IS HIRING
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Social Media Editor: ([link removed]) We’re looking for a journalist with a passion for digital storytelling who can craft intelligent, compelling social media campaigns that highlight our investigations.

DevOps Engineer: ([link removed]) We’re looking for a senior level engineer to join our small infrastructure team, which serves the entire OCCRP network.

Full Stack Django Developer: ([link removed]) Weʼre looking for a Python/Django engineer to work on improving our ID platform for researchers and journalists.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.

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