From OCCRP China Tobacco’s factory in Panama was shut down by authorities after its cigarettes kept making their way onto the black market there. A network of companies sprang up in its place — and have been shipping huge numbers of cigarettes from Panama around the...
From The Economist Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries. Weak institutions have made it even poorer. From 2012 to 2014 almost $1bn, or 12% of the country’s GDP, was stolen from the country through its banking system. Most of those believed to be responsible are...
From The GuardianA rights group in Russia has announced it is shutting down, citing fears its members and supporters may be prosecuted after authorities blocked its website for allegedly publishing content from an “undesirable” organisation.Team 29 – an association of lawyers and journalists specialising in...
From Transparency International With people, healthcare systems and economies still shaken up by the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union (EU) and its member states are gearing up for a better future. They've drawn up grand plans and unleashed €806 billion in recovery funds for a greener,...
From PBS Two high-ranking Trump political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency engaged in fraudulent payroll activities — including payments to employees after they were fired and to one of the officials when he was absent from work — that cost the agency more than $130,000,...
From BivolAviora Consult, the legal firm servicing Delyan Peevski’s businesses and hiring high-level lobbyists to defend him against Magnitsky Act measures in the USA, has received over 19 million BGN from Peevski himself, from a company he owns and from tobacco producer Bulgartabac. Attorneys Sasho...
From OCCRPAustria’s former vice chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) went on trial on Tuesday in Vienna for helping change a law in order to accommodate the owner of a private hospital in exchange for a donation to his party and a...
From Transparency InternationalCountries in the European Union (EU) are known for being wealthy, stable and democratic. However, this clean image is undermined by issues ranging from regional inequality and erosion of the rule of law to corruption problems.Transparency International’s (TI) new Global Corruption Barometer –...
From BalkanInsight In a new anti-corruption action that started with arrests on Wednesday, Croatian police and anti-corruption investigators have launched an investigation into associates of former Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, including the director of Croatian Radiotelevision, HTV, Kazimir Bacic. Croatia’s anti-graft body, USKOK, reported on Thursday that...
Two years ago, the offices of Chicago's 34th Ward's Alderman, Carrie Austin, were raided by federal authorities. Allegedly, Austin and her top aid received home improvement perks from a prospective real-estate developer. The improvements are said to include custom cabinetry, granite countertops, plumbing and HVAC...