Drew Sullivan - OCCRP

Today marks 7 years since OCCRP and partners published our Troika Laundromat investigation.

It revealed an all-purpose financial fraud vehicle consisting of at least 75 offshore shell companies whose controllers used them to move billions of dollars from Russia to the West. buff.ly/4MlZux5

Sanctioned Alleged Member of 'Criminal' Conglomerate Bought $17 Million in London Properties Before he was sanctioned for his alleged involvement in the Prince Group's sprawling scam operations, Yang Jian scooped up 12 adjoining houses and space for 17 cars in London.

Before he was sanctioned for his alleged involvement in the Prince Group's sprawling scam operations, Yang Jian scooped up 12 adjoining houses and space for 17 cars in London.

Conflict-Tainted Venezuelan Gold Entered World Market Through Caribbean Island, Documents Indicate The Caribbean island of Curaçao has no natural gold deposits. So why did dozens of tons of gold refined at a prestigious Swiss refinery come from the island? The evidence points to their origin in conflict...

Conflict-Tainted Venezuelan Gold Entered World Market Through Caribbean Island, Documents Indicate

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Apparent Affiliate of Danish Company Helps Russians Export Grain From Occupied Ukraine Russian companies are shipping pillaged grain out of occupied Ukrainian ports. The apparent affiliate of a major Danish shipping inspection company, Baltic Control, is being paid to assist.

The collaborative investigation “Pirates of the Azov Sea” has been shortlisted for the 2026 Sigma Awards. The story details how Russia’s occupation of two Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov enabled the export of pillaged Ukrainian grain.
Read our story here: www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Belarusian Businessman Claims Former Cyprus President’s Family Held Firms For Him Belarusian businessman Yury Chyzh claims he was behind the nominally-owned Cypriot companies that continued to operate while he was sanctioned.

Belarusian businessman Yury Chyzh claims he was behind the nominally-owned Cypriot companies that continued to operate while he was sanctioned.

www.occrp.org/en/scoop/bel...

Russian Man on U.K.’s Most Wanted List Holds Maltese ‘Golden Passport’ British authorities allege that Alexander Kuksov, a Russian with Maltese citizenship, was part of a major money laundering operation. His brother was convicted for his role in the same network.

British authorities allege that Alexander Kuksov, a Russian with Maltese citizenship, was part of a major money laundering operation. His brother was convicted for his role in the same network.

www.occrp.org/en/news/russ...

Belgian forces backed by France have boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker and are escorting it to Zeebrugge for arrest. The vessel is suspected of sailing under a false flag with false documents to evade sanctions on Russian oil. #Russia

Babak Zanjani, an Iranian financier sanctioned for providing financial backing for the Iranian regime, was running two U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchanges even while still formally subject to a death sentence in Iran.

German Court Sentences Key Figure in Massive Call Center Scam Operation Exposed by OCCRP Nearly six years after OCCRP first exposed the Milton Group fraudulent call center network, a German court has sentenced a key operator to seven and a half years in prison for his role in the multi-million-euro...

German Court Jails Key Figure in Massive Call Center Scam Operation Exposed by OCCRP

www.occrp.org/en/news/germ...

Fear is the Message: How the Jalisco New Generation Cartel Weaponized Algorithms to Paralyze Mexico In the hours after Mexican drug lord "El Mencho’s" killing by the military, his Jalisco New Generation Cartel responded by deploying hundreds of roadblocks, torching banks and supermarkets — and…

After Mexican drug lord "El Mencho’s" killing by the military, his Jalisco New Generation Cartel responded by deploying roadblocks, torching banks and supermarkets — and sharing the carnage online. OCCRP explains how the cartel weaponized algorithms to paralyze the country: buff.ly/Q4AoaCN

German Court Sentences Key Figure in Massive Call Center Scam Operation Exposed by OCCRP Nearly six years after OCCRP first exposed the Milton Group fraudulent call center network, a German court has sentenced a key operator to seven and a half years in prison for his role in the…

IMPACT: Nearly six years after OCCRP first exposed the Milton Group fraudulent call center network, a German court has sentenced a key operator to seven and a half years in prison for his role in the multi-million-euro scam: buff.ly/unfNoDy

From handling inconsistent public registries to sensitive leaks , the upcoming webinar “Sourcing Data for the Next Generation of Illicit Finance Research” will explore how to navigate complex datasets and put them to use.

Register here for the March 5 webinar:
buff.ly/k9VVT2x

It was 8 years ago today that I got a call from our Czech editor Pavla Holcová. Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak, who we were working with, and his fiancé had been murdered. It shook me badly but we immediately started finishing our work. We will get them I promised.

Remember back in the day when Congress used to be in charge of appropriations?

Deterring Russia is the only effective long-term strategy for dealing with Moscow.

It’s about making the Kremlin see a simple reality every day: war comes at too high a cost. Deterrence must work not just until the end of the current conflict, but far beyond -

Incredible opinion. It holds that the common ICE tactic of jumping out of an unidentified rental vehicle and seizing suspected noncitizens while masked violates the Fourth Amendment because the *manner* of the seizure is incompatible with a free society governed by the rule of law.

The Murder of Ján Kuciak: Inside the Verdict the Supreme Court Overturned - VSquare.org On Monday, January 26, 2026, the trial of Marián Kočner began for the third time at Slovakia's Specialized Criminal Court. Together with his associate Alena Zsuzsová, he is accused of ordering the mur...

🖤 8 years since the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and justice is still pending. Oligarch Marián Kočner was acquitted of ordering the killing, but the verdict was overturned. In this book excerpt, Tomáš Madleňák explains the errors & the grounds for the retrial which has just started.

A few years and an award winning documentary later police and journalists exposed all the killers and the politicians involved. PM Robert Fico and his law enforcement played a role. They gave the murderers Jans address. Sadly they are back in power as a now pro-Russian corrupt government.

It was 8 years ago today that I got a call from our Czech editor Pavla Holcová. Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak, who we were working with, and his fiancé had been murdered. It shook me badly but we immediately started finishing our work. We will get them I promised.

JUST ANNOUNCED!! Find out who we’ve named as our global anti-crime and corruption hero. These are the best of the best fighting corruption and crime. True heroes. We used to name the worst person in crime but there are just too many now. Heroes need highlighting!

🧵 Matryoshka, Russian-state aligned bot network has introduced a hashtag HollywoodAgainstZelensky on X/Twitter yesterday.

With deepfaked audio, multiple manipulated Cameo videos make celebrities to "demand" that European leaders force Zelensky to sign a peace treaty on Russia's terms.

In countries where law enforcement has become dysfunctional, such as Romania & Ukraine, independent anti-corruption agencies have been successfully established.
In the US, DOJ has collapsed. The US needs to set up independent anti-corruption agencies to fight top-level crimes.

Our new documentary, “How We Tracked a ‘Fake Prince’ Scammer to His Nigerian Mansion,” hit more than half a million views.

We spoke to the journalist behind the story, who started investigating after a Romanian businesswoman believed she’d invested £200 million in a fake humanitarian foundation.

Jeffrey Epstein Arranged Employment for Romantic Partner at Top U.S. Think Tank Emails show Epstein helped a girlfriend obtain roles at the International Peace Institute, a New York-base think tank, and may even have subsidized her salary at one point.

Emails show Epstein helped a girlfriend obtain roles at the International Peace Institute, a New York-base think tank, and may even have subsidized her salary at one point.

www.occrp.org/en/scoop/jef...

US Bars Palau Senate Leader Over Alleged China Ties The U.S. barred the president of Palau’s Senate from entering the country over allegations he accepted bribes to promote the interests of China’s government and criminal figures.

The U.S. barred the president of Palau’s Senate from entering the country over allegations he accepted bribes to promote the interests of China’s government and criminal figures.

www.occrp.org/en/news/us-b...

Chinese-Kittian Crypto Scam Fugitive Owns Dubai Property Daren Li, who has fled a 20-year sentence for for his alleged role in stealing and laundering $73 million in Cambodia-based cryptocurrency scams, rents out a villa in Dubai

Daren Li, who has fled a 20-year sentence for for his alleged role in stealing and laundering $73 million in Cambodia-based cryptocurrency scams, rents out a villa in Dubai

www.occrp.org/en/news/chin...

Explained: What Is The ‘Fake Dubai Prince’ Scam? How fraudsters are posing as the real-life Crown Prince of Dubai to ensnare victims in their romance scams.

How fraudsters are posing as the real-life Crown Prince of Dubai to ensnare victims in their romance scams.

www.occrp.org/en/feature/t...

EU Honors Alexei Navalny; Labs Say He was Poisoned with Rare Neurotoxin Diplomats in Geneva pay tribute to the Russian opposition leader as European laboratories claim he was poisoned with a dart frog neurotoxin

Diplomats in Geneva pay tribute to the Russian opposition leader as European laboratories claim he was poisoned with a dart frog neurotoxin

Corruption Threatens Democracies Worldwide, Transparency International Warns Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index shows a world where democratic institutions are weakening, civic space is shrinking, and corruption is rising—from Europe and the Americas...

Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index shows a world where democratic institutions are weakening, civic space is shrinking, and corruption is rising—from Europe and the Americas to Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

www.occrp.org/en/news/corr...

EU Considers Sanctions on Georgia’s Kulevi Port Over Russian Oil Links While Georgia’s Prime Minister denies any wrongdoing, the EU is moving to blacklist the Kulevi terminal for sanctions evasion. The designation would cripple the logistics of the SOCAR-owned facility,...

While Georgia’s Prime Minister denies any wrongdoing, the EU is moving to blacklist the Kulevi terminal for sanctions evasion. The designation would cripple the logistics of the SOCAR-owned facility, making it "unattractive to international shipping."

www.occrp.org/en/news/eu-c...