We have a winner.
The 2020 Corrupt Person of the Year is…
🏆 Jair Bolsonaro 🏆
Learn why our judges selected the President of Brazil over the other three finalists.
occrp.org/en/poy/2020/
🇰🇪Kenya has an abduction problem.
Since anti-government protests in June, at least 82 people have been kidnapped; 29 are still missing. Some have been found dead.
One kidnapping victim, activist Bob Njagi, was snatched from a public bus in August. ⤵️
occrp.org/en/news/the-countr…
🇰🇪 Kenyan President William Ruto received the most public nominations in OCCRP history — over 40,000.
Kenyans called out corruption, youth unemployment, and a contentious finance bill.
Their extraordinary outpouring and demands for accountability were remarkable.
BREAKING: Leaked bank records show how Credit Suisse helped dictators, corrupt politicians, spies, and criminals hide their illicit fortunes.
This is #SuisseSecrets, one of the world’s largest investigations into the world of Swiss banking 🇨🇭 occrp.org/en/suisse-secrets/…
BREAKING: OCCRP and partners have uncovered dozens of assets tied to Russia’s ruling class. And this is just the beginning.
We'll continue to identify and catalog their yachts, mansions, and other ill-gotten gains here, in #RussianAssetTracker 🔍 occrp.org/en/asset-tracker/
🦹 We need your nomination for Corrupt Person of the Year!
For 10+ years, OCCRP has used this award to spotlight individuals who have done the most to advance organized crime and corruption around the world.
Tell us your selection here: forms.gle/AoE4XKsWFjfheQLTA
A warm welcome to our new followers from Kenya! 🇰🇪
As we begin 2025, we are inspired to continue our commitment to uncovering and exposing crime and corruption in Kenya and beyond.
BREAKING: Leaked emails reveal that a Kremlin-linked lobbying group offered payments to several European politicians to promote pro-Russia policies.
Legitimizing the annexation of Crimea being chief among them.
Here’s what we found👇
#KremlinConnectionoccrp.org/en/investigations/…
Serbia’s finance minister sent his children to a private school whose tuition cost roughly 5x his salary at the time.
We followed the money, and this is what we found:
occrp.org/en/investigation/p…
UPCOMING: Leaked records of 18,000 bank accounts holding assets worth $100+ billion.
OCCRP and 47 other media outlets have been working on one of the world’s largest investigations into the shadowy world of Swiss banking.
It’s called #SuisseSecrets
Chinese drone manufacturer DJI stopped selling its products in Russia and Ukraine after the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion — yet its drones have still ended up on battlefields.
How? We reveal how Russian firms are importing them via Kazakhstan.
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
NEW: On the eve of Catalonia's 2017 vote for independence, mysterious Russians reportedly offered 10,000 troops to help the territory break from Spain.
Now OCCRP and partners reveal new details about this #RussianOffer, how it was made — and by whom. 1/
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
🏆OCCRP’s 2024 Corrupt Person of the Year is … Bashar al-Assad.
The ousted Syrian president turned Syria into a narco-state, financing his authoritarian regime through an array of organized crime, including the production and trafficking of Captagon, an addictive street drug.
NEW: Our 2023 Corrupt Person of the Year isn’t a domineering dictator — she’s one of the many dry bureaucrats helping to derail democracy.
Step forward María Consuelo Porras, Guatemala’s attorney general and protector of the political elite.
BREAKING: Customs officers have raided a network of German companies suspected of selling precursors that could be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons to a Russian firm contracted by the FSB.
Our story below with @ndr, @wdr and @SZ 👇1/
occrp.org/en/daily/16706-ger…
BREAKING: A massive worldwide leak of 11 million+ documents from a slew of offshore service providers exposes the secret wealth and schemes of political leaders, celebrities, and criminals.
These are our investigations as part of the #PandoraPapers 👇 1/
occrp.org/en/the-pandora-pap…
NEW: For years, Vladimir Putin has denied any connection to the palace, villas, and other assets that reporters have tied to him.
But we found that these properties have something in common: The companies that own them are secretly interconnected. /1
occrp.org/en/asset-tracker/m…
🇺🇦 NEW: Two Ukrainian girls were forced to live in Russian institutions and pressured to abandon their identities — until journalists helped them escape.
Thousands more Ukrainian children remain in Russian hands.
occrp.org/en/37-ccblog/ccblo…
NEW: In 2016, Belgrade mayor Siniša Mali told a court that foreign friends had paid school fees for his children that cost 5x his salary.
We found that the money came from three offshore companies — including one owned by Mali himself.
occrp.org/en/investigation/p…
Each year, OCCRP calls for nominations for our Person of the Year in Crime and Corruption award.
Kenyan President William Ruto received over 40,000 nominations — the most we’ve ever seen for one nominee.
TOMORROW: 400+ reporters. 88 countries. Trillions in banking secrets.
OCCRP is part of the #FinCENFiles, a global investigation led by @ICIJorg and @BuzzFeedNews.
We release our findings on Sunday.
NEW: An international money-laundering ring run from Moscow & Dubai has been moving billions in crypto and cash for criminal operations, @NCA_UK says.
84 people have been arrested as part of “Operation Destabilise,” involving police from the U.K., Ireland, the U.S. & France.
Ruto’s government has faced accusations of greed and corruption, with policies that have fueled economic instability.
Protests against his government have led to violence, arrests, and disappearances, further fueling public outrage.
UPCOMING: Few are better at obscuring their ill-gotten gains than Russia’s ruling class. Assets seized thus far represent only a fraction of their true wealth.
So OCCRP, @guardian, and 25 other media outlets have teamed up to hunt down the rest. #RussianAssetTracker
Exclusive: OCCRP and @KRIKrs obtained audio recordings of United Group and Telekom Srbija CEOs discussing undermining N1, a Serbian TV channel that documented anti-government protests.
In the recorded conversation, the Telekom Srbija CEO alleged that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić personally spoke about dismissal of Aleksandra Subotić, who heads the company that owns N1: occrp.org/en/news/audio-reco…
Erdoğan 🇹🇷 Bolsonaro 🇧🇷 Trump 🇺🇸 Kolomoisky 🇺🇦
From these finalists, our judges selected the 2020 Corrupt Person of the Year.
Learn why they ultimately chose the President of Brazil.
occrp.org/en/poy/2020/
🇷🇸🇳🇱EXCLUSIVE: A Dutch media conglomerate's CEO promised a close ally of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that he would fire the media executive who oversees independent broadcaster @n1srbija, @OCCRP and @KrikRS reveal.
occrp.org/en/scoop/telecom-c…
While Ruto didn’t “win” Person of the Year, the extraordinary public outpouring highlights global demands for justice and accountability.
Ultimately, our judges chose Bashar al-Assad for the top dishonor due to his far-reaching and devastating impact.
occrp.org/en/person-of-the-y…
⚡BREAKING: The US Treasury has lifted sanctions against Karina Rotenberg, the wife of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close friend Boris Rotenberg, according to its website. In the #RotenbergFiles investigation, @OCCRP found that Karina Rotenberg played a key role in her husband’s efforts to move assets and navigate restrictions after he was sanctioned in 2014. Full story: occrp.org/en/project/the-rot…
After Russia annexed Crimea, multiple legislatures in Europe passed motions advocating for dropping EU sanctions over the invasion.
We reveal that many of the politicians behind these resolutions were in touch with Kremlin propagandists.
The story: occrp.org/en/investigations/…
Finalists for the 2021 Corrupt Person of the Year
🇦🇫 Asraf Ghani
🇸🇾 Bashar Al-Assad
🇹🇷 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
🇦🇹 Sebastian Kurz
And the winner, 🇧🇾 Aleksandr Lukashenko.
See why our judges selected the Belarusian president.
occrp.org/en/poy/2021/
NEW: Leaders of intelligence agencies in Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan are tied to Credit Suisse accounts that swelled in value as they served key roles in U.S.-led wars. #SuisseSecretsoccrp.org/en/suisse-secrets/…
This decision doesn’t minimize Ruto or his corruption.
There are simply many individuals who qualify as corrupt, and the judges weigh the scale and impact of their actions globally.
NEW: The son of a prominent Azerbaijani official lives in a luxurious London flat. But he didn’t buy this property, an obscure offshore company did.
This story raises serious questions about this deal that implicate a powerful Turkish businessman. 1/
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
NEW: One of the largest leaks of banking records and related documents ever reveals an $8.8 billion network of offshore companies that allowed corrupt politicians and criminals to secretly launder money and hide assets abroad. Here’s the #TroikaLaundromat. occrp.org/en/troikalaundroma…
Spanish police have arrested Dmitry Artyakov, son of a top Russian defense official, for allegedly laundering millions through luxury real estate purchases in Girona using funds linked to the Troika Laundromat scheme.
occrp.org/en/news/spanish-po…
⚡️⚡️⚡️К Роману Анину с обыском пришла ФСБ
Несколько минут назад мы узнали, что к главному редактору «Важных историй» Роману Анину пришли с обыском сотрудники ФСБ. Подробностей мы не знаем.
Роман не выходит на связь.
На место уже едут адвокаты.
NEW: Meet Inna Yashchyshyn, aka Anna de Rothschild, the Ukrainian grifter who blagged her way into Trump’s Florida residence and mingled with top Republicans after posing as a member of a European banking dynasty.
Our investigation with @PittsburghPG👇1/
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
OCCRP’s Serbian member center, KRIK, has profiled more than a dozen people opposing anti-government demonstrators, who have also been convicted or investigated for serious crimes.
occrp.org/en/news/convicts-a…
The CEOs discussed removing the chief executive of a United Group subsidiary that owns N1, a Serbian TV channel that has documented nine months of anti-government protests.
occrp.org/en/news/audio-reco…
COMING SOON: More than 270 journalists.
Collaborating across 55 countries and territories.
For more than six months.
On one investigation.
#CyprusConfidential
With @ICIJorg.
NEW: Millions of leaked documents offer unprecedented insight into how accountants, bankers, auditors, and lawyers in Cyprus have catered to the rich and powerful — especially Russian oligarchs.
Welcome to #CyprusConfidentialoccrp.org/en/cyprus-confiden…
NEW: Leaked emails reveal how the Rotenberg brothers, two of the most prominent Russian oligarchs, dodged Western sanctions for years.
This is the #RotenbergFiles 🔍 occrp.org/en/rotenberg-files…
The former CEO of the Federal Savings Bank was sentenced to prison for bribing Paul Manafort to secure a senior position in Donald Trump's administration.
occrp.org/en/daily/15929-u-s…
BREAKING: German authorities are raiding the Bavarian home of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, looking for evidence of alleged tax evasion and money laundering.
Our latest with @SZ, @NDR, and @WDR 1/
occrp.org/en/asset-tracker/g…
🇰🇪 For more investigative journalism focused on Kenya, we invite you to follow two of our independent member centers:
🔗 @AfUncensored
🔗 @theelephantinfo
Reporters went undercover to reveal how an anonymous Telegram account is recruiting young men with pro-Russia views to commit acts of vandalism, arson, and murder in Europe.
Read our investigation: occrp.org/en/investigation/m…
NEW: The Adani Group is one of India’s top conglomerates and is widely linked to Prime Minister Modi. It’s also been rocked by accusations of stock manipulation.
Now reporters have found new evidence that sheds light where the authorities couldn’t. 👇occrp.org/en/investigations/…
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao abused the power and resources of her office, according to a report released by the Transportation Department’s inspector general.
occrp.org/en/daily/14001-rep…
The world's richest man, @elonmusk, is using a 2019 @OCCRP investigation to attack the free press and U.S. humanitarian aid.
The story in question revealed how Rudy Giuliani enlisted questionable associates to dig up dirt in Ukraine.
Drug lords.
Notorious politicians.
Terrorism financiers.
In the gleaming cityscape of Dubai, some of the world’s wealthy + most wanted have taken advantage of secrecy, lax regulations & a hot property market.
Who are they? Come see.
Welcome to #DubaiUnlocked.
On the night before the historic vote, Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont met a man whom separatist leaders privately referred to as "Putin’s envoy.”
This was Nikolai Sadovnikov, a longtime diplomat who reportedly claimed to have a direct line to Vladimir Putin. 2/
Thousands of Serbians marched to Novi Sad to mark the anniversary of the deadly train station canopy collapse — and to deliver a message: "Corruption kills."
W/ @CINSerbia
Chinese drone manufacturer DJI stopped selling its products in Russia and Ukraine after the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion — yet its drones have still ended up on battlefields.
How? We reveal how Russian firms are importing them via Kazakhstan.
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
Reporters found real estate throughout the EU worth millions of dollars tied to Roman Abramovich, the owner of FC Chelsea, including:
➡️ An estate in St. Tropez 🇫🇷 — Est. value unknown
➡️ A house on Lake Fuschl 🇦🇹 — Est. value $15.3M
cdn.occrp.org/projects/russi…
U.S. and European authorities have dismantled a cryptocurrency laundering service used by North Korean and Russian state-backed hackers, Europol claims.
occrp.org/en/daily/17428-us-…
Despite facing unprecedented scrutiny, we found that Russia's ruling class has still been able to effectively control lucrative assets abroad through opaque corporate structures and proxies.
Here are a few examples we've uncovered so far 👇
cdn.occrp.org/projects/russi…
🏆 We have a winner 🏆
The 2022 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption is…
🇷🇺 Yevgeny Prigozhin 🇷🇺
Here’s why our judges selected the Russian oligarch over the other three finalists.
occrp.org/en/poy/2022/
BREAKING: Ukrainian oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky & Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who formerly owned the country's largest commercial lender Privatbank, have lost an appeals case to have nearly $2bn in frozen assets released.
The men oversaw the alleged theft of $5.5 billion from the bank.
….a promise that an independent Catalonia would pass legislation to become a haven for cryptocurrency.
Puigdemont “shit himself” at their offer, according to an associate. He made no promises. 5/
The emails belong to Russian parliamentary staffer Sargis Mirzakhanian, who played a key role in the International Agency for Current Policy, which arranged payments to politicians in the EU parliament as well as in individual European countries.
40 media outlets representing 23 countries.
5 terabytes of leaked emails from the Colombian prosecutor’s office.
The biggest investigation into organized crime originating from Latin America.
#NarcoFiles: The New Criminal Order is coming soon.
Land records reveal a 33.7 million pounds London mansion owned by sanctioned Iranian banker Ali Ansari, accused of aiding the IRGC.
occrp.org/en/news/sanctioned…
Twelve years ago today, @novaya_gazeta's Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated in Russia. It's a black day for journalism as we hear news of the brutal killing of reporter #VictoriaMarinova in #Bulgaria last night, the third journalist killed in Europe in one year. #PressFreedom
NEW: The Israeli firm NSO Group sells spyware to repressive governments that often use it to target activists, political opponents, and reporters.
In a new joint investigation, we uncovered new victims around the world.
This is the #PegasusProject. 1/
occrp.org/en/the-pegasus-pro…
NEW: Starting in 2008, a small U.S. airline was taken over by a group of Russian investors. Two were later convicted of running an organized crime ring out of Trump Tower.
But Monarch Air’s unusual past didn’t stop it winning U.S. gov’t contracts 🛩️
occrp.org/en/investigations/… 1/
Documents related to the probe obtained by @ndr, @wdr and @SZ indicate one shipment may have included a chemical used to make Novichok, a nerve agent used in the attempted murders of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and Russian double agent Sergei Skripal. 2/
🔴NEW: The CEOs of Telekom Srbija and Netherlands-based United Group discussed strategies to weaken a broadcaster that has provided a platform for opposition voices amid mass protests against the Serbian government, according to a leaked audio recording.
CEO of Telekom Srbija alleged that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had already spoken about Subotić’s dismissal with Nikos Stathopoulos, chairman of BC Partners, the British private equity firm that owns the majority of United Group.
You can listen to the recording here: occrp.org/en/news/audio-reco…
Danske Bank is OCCRP’s Corrupt Actor of the Year for 2018.
The bank has enabled the laundering of billions of dollars through Europe, allowing criminals and corrupt officials to park their ill-gotten proceeds around the world. occrp.org/en/poy/2018/
NEW: Andrew Tate — the self-described "king of masculinity" — and his brother have made many bombastic claims about their wealth.
Today, the OCCRP network can confirm one of them...
...they've done business with alleged members of a Romanian mafia group🇷🇴occrp.org/en/investigations/…
Sadovnikov had a long career with the Russian foreign ministry — but according to a Western intelligence agency, he was also “an actor of Russian parallel diplomacy” who was “accountable only to the head of state, with whom he claims a certain proximity.” 3/
At the meeting with the Catalonians, Sadovnikov and his small entourage offered them 10,000 soldiers to help their independence bid. They also offered the astonishing sum of $500 billion.
In exchange, the Russian delegation had one request... 4/
NEW: The new CEO of Dutch media conglomerate United Group promised the state-owned telecom company that he would fire the chief executive of the group's media arm, OCCRP and @KRIKrs can reveal
occrp.org/en/scoop/telecom-c…
🇵🇰 Pakistan: An intelligence chief oversaw millions in CIA funding sent to arm Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviets.
But as the American money flowed, Credit Suisse accounts were opened under the names of the general’s sons. These accounts went on to hold millions.
A fine example of the banal face of evil, Porras was first appointed attorney general in 2018 under former president Jimmy Morales.
She played a key role in ousting Guatemala’s UN-backed corruption commission a year later, ensuring corrupt elites stayed in power.
🏆 We have a winner 🏆
The 2021 Corrupt Person of the Year is…
🇧🇾 Aleksandr Lukashenko 🇧🇾
Learn why our judges selected the President of Belarus over the other four finalists.
occrp.org/en/poy/2021/
Kazakhstan’s President 🇰🇿
The family of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a man who is currently targeting the country’s entrenched oligarchy, had a Swiss bank account that held $1 million at its peak.
And that’s not the family’s only hidden fortune.
occrp.org/en/suisse-secrets/…
But text messages obtained by OCCRP show that the Russians and Catalonians stayed in touch for months afterwards. Reps from each group exchanged 100s of texts:
➡️ Jordi Sardà Bonvehí, a businessman who translated for Sadovnikov
➡️ Victor Terradellas, а Puigdemont associate
6/
NEW: A confidant of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was in business w/ a man later named by Europol as a suspected drug trafficker.
This the 2nd business relationship we've revealed btw Nikola Petrović and someone w/ alleged links to organized crime.
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
BREAKING: Local media are reporting that Marian Kočner, a wealthy Slovak businessman, has been charged in connection with the murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová.
More to come. #justice4jan.
NEW: The Telegram messaging app has a reputation for security — but @istories_media found that its technical infrastructure is run by a man whose companies closely collaborate with Russian intelligence services.
Meet Vladimir Vedeneev 👇
"Russian money is hugely important to Swiss banks… The majority of this profoundly undemocratic money was dirty but Switzerland had to bank the money or lose ground to Dubai, London..."
OCCRP's Drew Sullivan speaks at a @HelsinkiComm hearing:
piped.video/watch?v=dxX98XQm…
NEW: The #Trump SoHo has been one of the US president’s most controversial deals. OCCRP/@ZEMBLA reveal how apartments in the tower were bought with money connected to a multi-billion fraud case in the former Soviet republic of #Kazakhstan 💰. Read it here: occrp.org/en/28-ccwatch/cc-w…
The key German company, Riol Chemie GmBH, made more than 30 shipments to Russia’s Chimmed Group over three years.
Chimmed Group was contracted in 2016 by the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency widely believed to have been behind both attacks. 3/
We have extensive experience working with whistleblowers and handling sensitive leaks.
Our investigations are global collaborations. OCCRP journalists uncover corruption, trace money flows across borders, and unravel complicated financial dealings.
The Sons of an Azeri Despot 🇦🇿
Sons of Vasif Talibov, the tyrannical head of the autonomous Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan, received 100+ suspicious transactions that should have raised red flags at banks, like Credit Suisse, where they held accounts. occrp.org/en/suisse-secrets/…
Sardà also kept promising money. At one point, he sent a photo of a suitcase of euros. Another time, he let Terradellas hold a deposit certificate showing the Russians were good for $500 billion. (Experts say it’s an obvious fake.) 8/
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has asked for public comment on the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act, a new law aimed at ending anonymous companies in the United States.
occrp.org/en/daily/14186-fin…
Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan have few forests, and have never exported much wood to Europe.
That all changed after Russia invaded Ukraine — at least on paper.
Our story on how wood from Russia and Belarus makes its way to the EU in violation of sanctions.
occrp.org/en/investigations/…
NEW: The world’s top climate change conference, #COP29, opens soon in Azerbaijan.
The host government, led by the ruling Aliyev regime, is among the world’s most repressive.
We’ve been investigating them for over a decade. Here’s what you need to know ⤵️
occrp.org/en/project/know-yo…
Yevgeny Prigozhin ran the infamous “troll farm” and other pro-Putin media operations. One of his operatives came clean to reporters, sharing some of the dirty work he and his team did for the oligarch, including murder. Then he vanished. occrp.org/en/investigations/…
In one exchange, Sardà claimed that Vladimir Putin would meet with Puigdemont.
“The child” was a nickname of Puigdemont — while “the one on top of the bear” is a reference to a popular meme of the Russian president. 7/
When journalists reported that the ex-mayor of Belgrade secretly purchased 24 apartments abroad, he denied it and offered to give them the flats if they could prove he bought them.
Well, our partner @KRIKrs did just that. They’re waiting for the keys. 6/
occrp.org/en/the-pandora-pap…