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Greetings From Amsterdam,
We have an investigation that made international headlines to share this week, as well as two examples of real-world impact from our previous reporting.
But first, we have some exciting news: OCCRP has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ([link removed]) !
Professor Wolfgang Wagner at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, who’s eligible to make a nomination, said in his letter that "OCCRP contributes to peace by unmasking political corruption and organized crime."
We’re honored to have been nominated for one of the world’s most prestigious awards. But perhaps more importantly, it is encouraging to know that some people realize how investigative journalism contributes towards building a more equitable, just, and peaceful society.
Now, time to share some of the big happenings in the fight against corruption:
** NEW INVESTIGATIONS
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🇷🇺 Kremlin-Linked Group Arranged Payments to European Politicians to Support Russia’s Annexation of Crimea ([link removed]) 🇪🇺
The European Union imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Then several legislative bodies in Europe began passing motions that advocated for dropping those sanctions.
It turns out that many of the politicians behind these resolutions were in touch with Kremlin propagandists, leaked emails show.
We also discovered that the Kremlin-linked influence operation arranged payments for the European politicians in exchange for their cooperation.
Here’s what we found:
☝️ The Main Investigation ([link removed]) // 🇮🇹 Success in Italy ([link removed]) // 🇨🇾 Success in Cyprus ([link removed])
🌐 The Big Picture: This investigation reveals how old-fashioned corruption could have played a part in efforts by European politicians –– particularly those from far-right and far-left parties –– to legitimize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation was based on emails obtained by a Ukrainian hacker group that shared them publicly.
🇱🇺 This Luxembourg Businessman Got Europe's Corporate Registries Shut Down. But Whose Privacy Was He Protecting? ([link removed]) 🇪🇺
In November, the European Court of Justice dealt a huge blow to the anti-corruption movement when it sided with the plaintiff in a critical case over corporate transparency.
Who was he? A Luxembourg man who, we found, has a strong interest in preserving corporate secrecy — at least 117 companies that he directed or owned, many in offshore jurisdictions.
Quite the Business Network: Patrick Hansen's directorships connect him to two wealthy Russian businessmen operating in the gas business, including one who played a key role in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. One of these businessmen and his son also loaned his private jet company nearly 100 million euros.
🤔 Our Data and Sources: This investigation is based on hundreds of corporate documents and loan agreements, many of which came from the Pandora Papers leak.
>> Read the full story ([link removed])
Join the fight against corruption.
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** THE OCCRP NETWORK
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🇷🇺 IStories: Our Russian member center obtained a leak of documents ([link removed]) that show the inner workings of a key agency in the Kremlin’s censorship regime: Roskomnadzor, which decides who’s a “foreign agent,” a label that has been used to silence independent journalists and activists.
🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center spoke with an Indian diplomat about what Nigeria can learn from India when it comes toengaging with their respective diasporas ([link removed]) .
🇭🇺 Atlatszo: Our Hungarian member center reports on how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs purchased unnecessary ventilators ([link removed]) to treat COVID-19 patients, even though the country already had a stockpile of them.
** OCCRP HAS IMPACT
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🇬🇧 LLCInvest: The U.K. sanctioned a Russian IT company ([link removed]) that, OCCRP revealed last year, played a key role in holding wealth for Russian elites.
One of the domains it hosted was “LLCinvest.ru,” which OCCRP used to identify a network of companies ([link removed]) that owned properties connected to Vladimir Putin.
🇺🇸 Riviera Maya Gang: When we investigated a Romanian criminal syndicate that stole over $1 billion from rigged ATM machines, mainly in Mexico, we decided to dub the group the Riviera Maya Gang, after the region where their headquarters were based.
Court documents show that the FBI has now embraced the moniker :)
** MORE CORRUPTION AND ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS
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🇨🇭 Switzerland’s banking sector was shaken after our Suisse Secrets investigation revealed how corrupt elites, mafia bosses, and intelligence officials were banking at Credit Suisse.
Now Swiss prosecutors have launched an investigation of their own — to find who leaked the data. ([link removed])
🇬🇧 A new U.K. law required all offshore companies with property in the country to declare their beneficial owners on January 31. Only four in 10 complied ([link removed]) .
🇨🇾 Cyprus’s notorious “golden passport” scheme allowed foreigners to obtain EU citizenship in return for investment.
Now, five beneficiaries of the scheme have been sanctioned ([link removed]) by the U.S. for allegedly operating a Russian arms network.
🇺🇦 Ukraine willreplace Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov ([link removed]) after he was implicated in a high-profile corruption scandal. His Defense Ministry was found to be signing off on food contracts to feed frontline troops at inflated prices.
🇪🇨 Ecuadorian mayoral candidate Omar Menéndez was shot dead shortly before polls opened ([link removed]) on Sunday. He’s the second candidate to be assassinated in local elections marred by violence.
🇺🇸 In the United States, a former manager at Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange platform, pleaded guilty to fraud charges as part of aninsider trading scheme ([link removed]) , in which he could access information about crypto assets before they were made public.
P.S. Thank you for reading the OCCRP newsletter. Feel free to reply with any feedback.
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