News – Page 5

Credit Suisse Faces Swiss Charges for 2016 Mozambique Loan Scandal

Prosecutors say Credit Suisse allowed money laundering linked to Mozambique’s “tuna bonds” fraud. The fraud devastated the country’s economy in the 2010s. Prosecutors say a 2016 transfer of about $7.86 million should have triggered red flags. The bank failed to report it and later allowed most of the money to be moved to account, prosecutors say. The deficiencies enabled more than $2 billion in loans to be issued to three Mozambican state-owned companies, they say.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-02; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/credit-suisse-faces-swiss-charges-for-2016-mozambique-loan-scandal

Hong Kong Customs Intercepts 150-tonne Shipment of Donkey Skins

Hong Kong Customs Service seized over 150 tonnes of donkey skins in a major operation intercepting two shipments. The shipments, intercepted on October 3 and October 7, also contained other smuggled goods, in total worth nearly $200 million. Donkey skin is used in so-called Ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy made with the gelatin in donkey skin which is supposed to slow down aging. The surging demand for donkey parts has put the species’ populations around the world under threat, according to U.K.-based NGO the.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/hong-kong-customs-intercepts-150-tonne-shipment-of-donkey-skins

Surgeon Barred in UK Suspended in Spain After OCCRP Revelations

Jorge Horacio Esbry was struck off in 2020 by the U.K.’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. Tribunal said he attempted to kiss a patient, made verbal sexual remarks and performed breast-implant surgery against her wishes. It banned him from practicing medicine in the UK. He has been suspended in Spain following revelations from a joint investigation by Spanish outlet infoLibre and the OCCRP-led “ ” project. The Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Alicante said it believed “a criminal offence and a violation of the code of ethics and statutes” could have occurred.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/surgeon-barred-in-uk-suspended-in-spain-after-occrp-revelations

Kyrgyzstan Court Brands Independent Media ‘Extremist’ in Latest Press Freedom Crackdown

A Kyrgyz court has labeled three independent news outlets as “extremist’ organizations. The court also ordered a ban on their online activities. The ruling, issued at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, will be enforced by the Ministry of Digital Development. Both Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese said they will appeal the ruling. It is the latest escalation of a crackdown on media outlets investigating corruption and criticizing the government. The October District Court in Bishkek ruled that the “information materials” of the three news outlets were “Extremist.”

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-29; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/kyrgyzstan-court-brands-independent-media-extremist-in-latest-press-freedom-crackdown

Solomon Islands Water CEO Quits Amid Alleged Gov’t Pressure to Work With Troubled Indian Firm

Solomon Islands Water Authority, known as Solomon Water, initiated the plan to build the facility after heavy rains overwhelmed Honaira’s decrepit water treatment system in 2014. Heavy rains spread water-born diseases that killed over a dozen people, and struck thousands more with diarrheal disease. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) backed the initiative, but pressured Solomon Islands Water to choose Rean Watertech, according to people involved in the project. The company had failed to disclose that it was in the process of being sanctioned for the $20-million project.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-28; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/solomon-islands-water-ceo-quits-amid-govt-pressure-to-work-with-troubled-indian-firm

UK Sanctions Balkan Syndicates Linked to People Smuggling

The U.K. has imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on several Balkan-based crime figures and gangs. Among those targeted is the Krasniqi forgery network, a Kosovan group that operated a “sophisticated forgery lab producing fake documents” Also sanctioned is Nusret Seferović, alleged leader of a Croatian forgery ring that supplied Balkan gangs with counterfeit Croatian passports. The sanctions were announced during a Western Balkans summit.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-24; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/uk-sanctions-balkan-syndicates-linked-to-people-smuggling

Malta Strips Citizenship From Russian Convicted of Money Laundering

Semen Kuksov, 25, was sentenced to more than five years’ imprisonment in February last year. He pleaded guilty to laundering more than 12 million British pounds (around $15 million) of criminally-obtained cash. He obtained Maltese citizenship in 2022 under the country’s controversial “citizenship-by-investment” program. Malta announced in its government gazette on October 21 that it had “deprived” Kukov of citizenship.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-24; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/malta-strips-citizenship-from-russian-convicted-of-money-laundering

How the EU Mistakenly Sanctioned a Decoy Company When it Targeted a Business in Belarus

The European Union’s attempt to sanction Serbia’s Karić family over their ties to the authoritarian president of Belarus ultimately failed because it listed the wrong company details, according to an investigation. The family used their relationship with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to obtain real estate development and construction contracts worth more than $1 billion. When the EU targeted their Cyprus-based firm, Dana Holdings, in 2020, the sanctions list mistakenly omitted the Cyprus company’s registration number. Instead, it incorrectly liste

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-21; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/how-the-eu-mistakenly-sanctioned-decoy-company-when-it-targeted-a-business-in-belarus

Nigeria Deports 192 Foreign Cybercrime Suspects

Nigeria has deported 192 foreign nationals among the 759 suspects arrested during a December crackdown on a major cybercrime ring. The deportees were convicted of cyberterrorism, internet fraud, and related offenses. Those expelled included citizens of China, the Philippines, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Timor-Leste. The EFCC said the network laundered illicit proceeds through Genting International Co. Limited, a Nigerian-registered firm allegedly set up by foreign nationals.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-21; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/nigeria-deports-192-foreign-nationals-over-global-cybercrime-network

Dutch Court Halts United Group Founder’s Board Challenge, Raising Press Freedom Concerns in Serbia

The case concerns accusations of a governance crisis within a company but at stake, some argue, is press freedom in Serbia. The case was filed after London-based BC Partners, the parent company of United Group B.V., dismissed United Group CEO Viktoria Boklag. A ruling could have helped determine the fate of the country’s last independent media outlets as they struggle to survive in what experts describe as an eroding democracy. The trial was held at the Palace of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.

Source: OCCRP, 2025-10-18; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/dutch-court-halts-united-group-founders-board-challenge-raising-press-freedom-concerns-in-serbia

Archives