News – Page 24

Azerbaijan Detains Journalists in Escalating Media Crackdown

Azerbaijan’s government has intensified its crackdown on independent media. Six journalists from Meydan TV, one of the country’s few remaining independent outlets, detained. Ministry of Interior Affairs claimed that Ramin Jabrayilzada [Deko], an independent reporter collaborating with Meyda TV, was at Baku airport on allegations of smuggling foreign currency. Authorities also detained five other journalists and editors, as well as Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku Journalism School.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-12-10; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/azerbaijan-detains-journalists-in-escalating-media-crackdown

Evangelical Pastors Caught in a Charity Fraud Scheme

Kwabena Duodu, a former accountant for a national children’s charity, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of 10 counts of cheating the public revenue and seven counts of furnishing false information. He spent part of the stolen funds on a 5-bedroom house. A third pastor received a suspended sentence for his part in the scheme. He exploited his knowledge of the charity sector to file false claims for 10 evangelical churches, HMRC said. He conspired with others, including a “crooked preacher,” to use the details of multiple churches.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-12-06; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/evangelical-pastors-caught-in-a-charity-fraud-scheme

Basel Institute Releases New Anti-Money Laundering Index

Western Europe and the EU have the best anti-money laundering (AML) laws, according to the Basel Institute on Governance. Malta and Bulgaria are the only countries in the region to receive above-average risk scores. However, financial transparency remains a vulnerability, given the region’s large number of large banks. The index ranks countries by their AML frameworks, corruption levels, financial Transparency, political accountability, and political risk. The data sources for these assessments include the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the U.S. State Department, and Reporters Without Borders.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-12-06; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/basel-institute-releases-new-anti-money-laundering-index

Balkan Operation Nets Pink Panther Boss, Cocaine Kingpin

Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia arrested 11 people. They are suspected of smuggling more than half a tonne of cocaine from South America into the European Union. In March 2021, authorities seized cocaine concealed in the modified floor of a cargo container at the Croatian port of Ploče. The shipment’s street value was estimated at 50 million euros ($52.8 million) Europol said the seizure highlighted a trend of international drug traffickers increasingly targeting smaller EU ports.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-30; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/balkan-operation-nets-pink-panther-boss-cocaine-kingpin

EU Cracks Down on €297M VAT Fraud Linked to Organized Crime

The operation, codenamed Admiral 2.0, mobilized over 600 law enforcement officers in raids across 16 countries. Preliminary estimates point to an additional €297 million ($313.93 million) in VAT losses linked to the previously discovered scheme. The fraudulent network, primarily based in the Baltics, mirrored techniques exposed in the original operation, launched in 2022. That operation revealed €2.9 billion ($3.06 billion) in tax fraud in the European Union. The syndicate exploited EU rules on cross-border transactions, selling €1.48 billion ($1.56 billion)

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-30; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/eu-cracks-down-on-eur297m-vat-fraud-linked-to-organized-crime

Italy-led Police Operation Takes Down Major Illegal Streaming Network

International police operation shuts down one of the world’s largest illegal online streaming services. It is estimated that the service caused 10 billion euros ($10.55 billion) in annual financial damages. The pirated streaming service was run by a transnational, hierarchical organization that illegally captured and resold content from major streaming platforms. The stolen content included live broadcasts, and on-demand programs from broadcasters like Sky, Dazn, Mediaset, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and Paramount.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-30; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/italy-led-police-operation-takes-down-major-illegal-streaming-network

EU Operation Takes Down Violent Smuggling Ring

The November 20 operation mobilized more than 450 officers across Europe. 25 arrests were made in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Poland, Serbia, and the UK. Among those arrested were three high-value targets, including an Iraqi citizen accused of heading a linked smuggling ring. According to Europol, migrants paid between 4,500 euros ($4,715) and 12,000 euros ($12,575) for the perilous journeys, which were coordinated through hawala operators in Turkey and Europe.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/eu-operation-takes-down-violent-smuggling-ring

Tuvalu Bought Millions in Property from Australian Criminal Target Zhao

Tuvalu’s High Commission in Fiji agreed on May 2 to purchase three adjoining lots of land for FJ$ 5.8 million ($2.7 million) in the Raiwai area of Fiji’s capital, Suva. The sale was signed just over a month after OCCRP revealed that Australia had designated Chinese businessman Zhao as one of its top international criminal targets. The money will be sent in two tranches to a trust account run by Zhao’s Suva lawyer, Nikheel Nambiar.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/tuvalu-bought-millions-in-property-from-australian-criminal-target-zhao

US Targets Gulf Cartel Over Illegal Fishing

The Gulf Cartel has expanded into illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to fund its broader criminal enterprises. The cartel uses “lancha” boats to illegally harvest shark and red snapper from U.S. waters. The sanctions mark a significant action against the cartel, which is better known for its violent drug trafficking. The move is aimed at disrupting the cartel’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.s. Treasury Department has sanctioned five individuals linked to the cartel.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/us-targets-gulf-cartel-over-illegal-fishing

Investigation Reveals Russian Camp for Detained Ukrainians in Belarus

The camp, located near the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in the small town of Naroulia, operated in a former industrial complex during the spring of 2022. Witnesses described overcrowded conditions, insufficient food, and inadequate sanitation. Ukrainian men accused of resisting Russian occupation were reportedly interrogated and mistreated by Russian military personnel. One former detainee recounted beatings and psychological abuse during interrogations intended to extract information about Ukrainian military activities. Russian soldiers allegedly accused detainees of being spies or saboteurs, with some individuals forcibly disappeared after questioning.

Source: OCCRP, 2024-11-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/investigation-reveals-russian-camp-for-detained-ukrainians-in-belarus

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