News – Page 3

Slovenian Officials Target Investigative Outlet With Data-Privacy Complaints

Slovenia’s non-profit investigative outlet Oštro is facing a wave of legal and administrative attacks from public officials. Officials accuse the newsroom of violating personal data rules in what press groups describe as an effort to obstruct its reporting. The pressure began in October, when the municipality of Ljutomer filed both a criminal complaint and a separate complaint with Slovenia’s privacy regulator. Officials alleged “unlawful processing of data and the dissemination of false information”

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-13; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/slovenian-officials-target-investigative-outlet-with-data-privacy-complaints

European Police Strike at Balkan Drug Cartel in Coordinated Raids

Bosnian, German and regional police arrested three suspects and seized millions of euros in assets this week. The operation targeted a transnational criminal network involved in multi-tonne cocaine shipments from Colombia to Europe. The suspects were identified as high-value targets residing in Germany and believed to be key figures in the cartel. More than 500 officers searched 45 homes, businesses and vehicles, seizing more than five million euros ($5.87 million) in suspected criminal assets. Authorities recovered about 50,000 euros ($58,700) in cash, luxury items, three hi

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-12; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/european-police-strike-at-balkan-drug-cartel-in-coordinated-raids

47 Nepalis Rescued From Scam Centers in Myanmar Arrive in Kathmandu

OCCRP spoke with a dozen of the Nepalis rescued in recent months. Myanmar’s military authorities have ed, ed and ed some cyber-scam compounds along the Myanmar-Thailand border. “I was not paid my salary. In one punishment, I was hung up by my arms for 18 hours and locked in a cell for three days. When I didn’t follow their rules,. I was disciplined,” a rescued man who asked to be unnamed said.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-12; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/news-story-47-nepalis-rescued-from-scam-centers-in-myanmar-arrive-in-kathmandu

Human Rights Watch: Ecuador Freezes Bank Accounts of Indigenous, Environmental Groups

Since September 19, the country’s Financial and Economic Analysis Unit has ordered regulators to block accounts belonging to several groups. The freezes coincided with demonstrations against President Daniel Noboa’s plan to eliminate diesel subsidies and approve a controversial mining project. The account freezes were imposed under the , passed in August, which allows authorities to suspend financial access without a court order if they claim to have “objective, serious, and verifiable evidence” of suspicious activity. “Safeguards intended to prevent money laundering should never be used to target,” the government said.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-11; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/ecuador-freezes-bank-accounts-of-indigenous-environmental-groups-hrw-warns

UK Outlines Tougher Anti-Corruption Measures Focused on Professional Enablers

The plan aims to close legal loopholes and strengthen the country’s defenses against illicit finance. Lawyers, accountants, bankers and trust and company service providers are explicitly named as priority targets for disruption and enforcement. A key element of the plan is reforming how professional-services firms are regulated for anti–money-laundering. The document aims to go after practices such as creating opaque company structures, providing specialized legal or financial services to conceal assets, and knowingly facilitating corrupt transactions. Theoutlines more than 120 commitments across government and includes 15 million pounds (over $20 million) in new funding to expand the City of London Police’’s Domestic Corruption Unit.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-10; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/uk-outlines-tougher-anti-corruption-measures-focused-on-professional-enablers

Fiji Police Probe Senior Officers Over Alleged Links to Drug Traffickers

Seven senior Fijian Police officers are under investigation. Allegations of police corruption and collusion with organized crime figures roil the nation’s police force. Screenshots of what appeared to be dozens of Viber chats wereon social media last week, purporting to show members of the Fiji Police Force chatting with drug traffickers. The discussions included the movement of an undisclosed amount of hard drugs, concealment of weapons and military-grade explosives, illicit payment to police officers, and repeated calls to eliminate an individual they feared would reveal their identities and activities.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-11; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/fiji-police-probe-senior-officers-over-alleged-links-to-drug-traffickers

Nepal Files Corruption Charges Against 55 Officials, Chinese Contractor Over Pokhara Airport

Nepal’s top anti-graft body has filed corruption charges against 55 senior officials and a Chinese company. The agency alleges they embezzled millions of dollars during the construction of Pokhara International Airport. The high-profile project was built under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. A Nepalese consulting firm had determined the project could be completed for $145 million, but the price was increased during bilate. The airport was financed through a $215.96 million loan from China’s Export-Import Bank and inaugurated in January 2023.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-09; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/nepal-files-corruption-charges-against-55-officials-chinese-contractor-over-pokhara-airport

Hong Kong Security Office Summons Foreign Media, Warns Against “False Information”

China’s national security office in Hong Kong summoned senior journalists from major international outlets. Officials declined to say whether those media had done anything wrong. The meeting came after allegedly critical reporting on the blaze, which killed at least 159 people. The fire dominated local news coverage for more than a week and led to at least three arrests for alleged sedition, according to Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), an independent English-language newsroom. The outlet reported that foreign journalists were among those summoned.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-09; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/hong-kong-security-office-summons-foreign-media-warns-against-false-information

Lawyer Who Absconded From UK Prison Will Have Cypriot Legal License Suspended

Christos Christodoulides absconded from a U.K. prison after a 2005 sentence for immigration fraud. He was allowed to serve his sentence in 2023 and 2024 under house arrest in Cyprus. He continued to practice law during that time. Now, the Cyprus Bar Association has ordered his legal license suspended for 14 months, beginning December 17. The suspension is equal to “the period during which he practiced the profession while serving his sentence,” the bar association said.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-06; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/lawyer-who-absconded-from-uk-prison-will-have-cypriot-legal-license-suspended

UN Resolution Urges Russia to Return ‘Forcibly Transferred’ Ukrainian Children

The UN General Assembly has called on Russia to return Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia. The resolution passed with 91 votes in favor, 12 against, and 57 abstentions. Russia rejected the resolution, with its ambassador, Maria Zabolotskaya, calling it a “particularly cynical lie.” The Ukrainian government says several hundred thousand children have been forcibly took to Russia, with more than 19,000 cases . Experienced the resolution as a result of Russia’s actions in Crimea in 2014.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-05; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/un-resolution-urges-russia-to-return-forcibly-transferred-ukrainian-children

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