Greetings From Amsterdam,

This week, we published three investigations into the growing disinformation-for-hire industry. 

But first, don’t forget about our upcoming webinar on the legacy of Ján Kuciak, a Slovak journalist who was murdered five years ago. His former colleagues will discuss how OCCRP is continuing Kuciak’s investigative work, and how his assassination forever changed Slovakia. 

You’ll need to become an OCCRP Accomplice to join. If you’ve already donated, respond to this email to receive a registration link. 

Now, for the latest in global crime and corruption 🔍

#STORYKILLERS

Forbidden Stories obtained leaked documents revealing how shadowy digital mercenaries and reputation management firms spread disinformation and silence journalism — for a price.

Here are two groups we helped uncover:
 

Eliminalia
Type: Reputation management firm 
Location: Operates globally, w/ a co-working space in Barcelona
Notable Clientele: Drug traffickers, fraudsters, and other criminal actors
Tactics: Search engine manipulation, intimidation 

Leaked documents show the depths Eliminalia was willing to go to quash online reports about their clients. 

• Eliminalia helped an Italian firm called Area S.p.A drown out reports that it was fined for selling equipment to the Syrian government. Articles on everything from K-pop to blockchain — which also mentioned Area S.p.A — began flooding the internet. Legitimate news stories about the firm’s sales to Syria were suddenly buried in search engine results. 

• Eliminalia also deployed intimidation tactics against journalists, including OCCRP.
  
  An employee even posed as a European Commission official to threaten legal action over an OCCRP investigation. Eliminalia used the same domain to send legal threats to other media outlets.
  >> Read the full story

Reporters went undercover to expose a group of covert cyber influence specialists, some of whom have worked with Israeli security services. They claim to have worked on 33 presidential-level campaigns, including Kenya’s tumultuous elections in 2022.  

• During one of the recorded Zoom presentations, an operative displayed a screen with a Telegram account and clicked through the contacts and personal chats of a close advisor to Kenyan President William Ruto.

• Team Jorge appears to have also acquired unauthorized access to Gmail accounts of highly-placed officials, and deployed botnet social media campaigns. 

>> Read Full Story


🌐 The Big Picture of #StoryKillers: Our investigations expose two tentacles in the growing disinformation-for-hire industry — people who manipulate political campaigns, and others that launder the reputations of criminals.

How many more organizations are out there undermining democracy, sowing discord, silencing journalists, and burying the truth? 

You can read more about #StoryKillers on Forbidden Stories, which led the project.

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇷🇺 IStories: While many in Russia try to avoid military obligations even during times of peace, young men in Dagestan were known to pay bribes to get in. Our Russian member center reports that the North Caucasus region’s good will towards the Russian army has changed since its invasion of Ukraine.

🇷🇸 KRIK: Our Serbian member center reports on the brazen assassination of a leader of the Škaljari, one of two warring cocaine clans that have left a trail of bodies throughout Europe. 

🇱🇰 Watchdog: Sri Lanka tightly limited imported goods after an acute shortage of foreign currency threatened the government’s solvency. As a result, many citizens have been unable to buy basic commodities. Our Sri Lankan partner explains the backstory of this controversial policy decision, whether the strategy is working, and how long it could last. 

MORE CORRUPTION NEWS

🇧🇪 Belgium: Belgian prosecutors charged another lawmaker over his alleged role in the corruption scandal known as Qatargate, in which EU politicians are accused of giving the Qatar government influence over decision-making in exchange for cash and gifts.

🇬🇧 U.K.: Barclays is being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority over several alleged failings in its anti-money laundering protocols, reports the Financial Times. 

🇧🇬 Bulgaria: The U.S. and U.K. have sanctioned two more Bulgarian politicians for alleged corruption under the Global Magnitsky Act. Most of the EU citizens designated under the law are from Bulgaria, according to Euractiv. 

🇹🇷 Turkey: Foreign Policy examines how corruption increased the death count of the recent earthquakes in southeast Turkey, reporting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allowed regulatory oversight to be sacrificed by giving his allies non-competitive tenders during the country’s construction boom. 

MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

🇺🇸 United States: The Treasury Department sanctioned two leaders and associates of the Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang, or MS-13, for their involvement in drug trafficking, violence, murder, extortion, and money laundering.

🇨🇲 Cameroon: Controversial media mogul Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga was arrested on suspicion of masterminding the brutal murder of journalist Martinez Zogo.

AWARDS & EVENTS

#IJ4EU Impact Award: Every year, the Investigative Journalism for Europe organization awards the best cross-border investigations involving European countries. This year, a few investigations from the OCCRP network have been shortlisted:

• #SuisseSecrets: OCCRP and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung exposed criminals, politically-connected persons, and spies who banked at Credit Suisse. The investigation sparked a conversation about Switzerland’s notorious banking secrecy laws, as well as official probes around the world. 
• Lukashaneko’s Wallet: OCCRP’s Lithuanian member center Siena and Estonian member center Re:Baltica exposed how allies of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were able to dodge EU sanctions, revelations that spurred policy changes.
• Mining Secrets: Leaked documents showed the role of a powerful mining company in an environmental scandal in Guatemala. The project was led by Forbidden Stories, which included OCCRP and dozens of other journalists.