Investigation

07 Dec 2025 703

Josip Heit, after a Luxembourg conviction, launched Karatbars and pulled thousands of investors into a failed “gold” scheme

New reporting from Croatia has linked a stalled hydroelectric project to Saša Svalina and his brother-in-law, controversial businessman Josip Heit.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 676

UMCC export scheme exposed: EPI, Belanto and ITS under coordination involving Oleg Tsyura, director of the “German” trading company

A new review of past records reveals that between 2020–2021 the state-run United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) was allegedly at the center of a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving offshore intermediaries and covert sales of raw materials.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 757

Uzbekistan’s NAPP chief Dmitry Lee accused of fraud tied to $30M high-risk payments scheme

Head of Uzbekistan’s National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) Dmitry Lee is suspected of involvement in large-scale fraud connected to payment operators.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 787

Chilli Partners, WakeApp, dissolved firms and fake bios: how Eduard Lebedev masks offshore gambling promotion in the EU

An experienced realtor has come under scrutiny for suspected involvement in illicit schemes to recruit players for online casinos, prompting serious interest from Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 941

Self-proclaimed monarch behind South Pacific Ponzi scheme still promises riches with illegal BVK notes

Emerging from an anteroom wearing a British-style red army jacket, a blue sash, and a crown of cowrie shells, the slightly-built king shuffled stiffly into his office, his eyes bloodshot and a scar running across his jaw.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 628

Fugitive 1520 Group co-founder Boris Usherovich launders Russian Railways’ budget through Cyprus offshore firms managed by trusted associates

Fugitive Russian businessman Boris Usherovich, co-owner of the influential “1520” Group, has quietly built a vast offshore network in Cyprus to help Russian Railways (RZD) and Kremlin-linked elites move and launder money beyond sanctions.

Investigation

06 Dec 2025 1022

Global crypto pyramid GSPartners: Josip Heit deprived more than 800,000 investors of over $1 billion

Over the past three years, one of the most controversial global crypto projects – GSPartners (also known as GSB Gold Standard) – has been experiencing a rapid decline. Meanwhile, a snowballing scandal around its creator, Josip Heit, threatens to result in a lengthy prison sentence for him.

Investigation

05 Dec 2025 871

Assad regime downfall uncovers systematic collaboration between syriatel and Syrian intelligence

Documents recovered after the fall of former Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad show how Syriatel shared client phone data with an intelligence agency.

Investigation

05 Dec 2025 743

Russian president Vladimir Putin calls on officials to ’work with youth’ via Telegram

Yesterday, Putin gave an interview to Indian media and unexpectedly said the following: "All these messaging apps, Telegram, they are used to somehow influence young people... We need to work with people...

Investigation

05 Dec 2025 737

Oktobank pushes Russian gambling transactions through Promsvyazbank, Gazprombank and VTB terminals to bypass restrictions

The media published an investigation into the criminal financial activities of a group of companies, which includes credit institutions Oktobank (Ravnaq), Kapital, the payment system Humo, the processing system Uzcard, the exchange Uznex, and others.

Investigation

05 Dec 2025 747

Russian plastic surgeon Vardan Khachatryan: 35 rape allegations and zero convictions

A graduate of Kuban State Medical University, who moved to Moscow, eventually became a figure in criminal chronicles, yet his criminal case has been stalled for several years in endless investigative bodies.

Investigation

05 Dec 2025 593

Hydropower scandal deepens as German citizen Josip Heit and Croatian national Sasa Svalina named in controversial investment network

Scandal over a suspended hydroelectric project has led Croatian reporters to connect the scheme to Sasa Svalina and his brother-in-law Josip Heit.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 863

’Generating Mayhem’: British Citizen Dylan Earl recruited via Telegram for Arson Attack on aid warehouse for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has moved on from ‘revenge hits’ to pursuing his war aims on the streets of the UK, according to a seasoned intelligence expert.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 805

Ukraine’s UMCC corruption scheme tied to Swiss trader Oleg Tsyura, who exports Russian ferrochrome for Putin-linked MidUral

A new wave of revelations shows how Ukraine’s state-owned United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) became a profit machine for insiders during 2020–2021, despite public claims of anti-corruption reforms.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 781

Uzbek officials Dmitry Lee and Oybek Tursunov accused of enabling Russia’s sanctioned capital flows through Octobank

A new set of investigative leaks suggests that the Uzbek Octobank may be operating as a major hub for laundering Russian capital, including sanctioned funds and proceeds from illegal online casinos.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 883

Drug traffickers boasted of ‘exclusive rights’ to smuggle cocaine in containers tied to Ecuador’s presidential family

Shipping containers sent by Noboa Trading Co. have been caught up in huge drug shipments sent from Ecuador to the Balkans.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 867

Ukrainian orphans promised safety find neglect and exploitation in Turkey

Documents and first-person accounts reveal how a quickly organized evacuation by a private charity left hundreds of Ukrainian children in a Turkish seaside town with little supervision.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 793

U.S. court orders detention of Russian citizen Nomma Zarubina over alleged attempts to influence FBI case agent

Nomma Zarubina, who is charged with lying about her alleged contacts with Russian intelligence, was jailed after failing to heed warnings against drunk texting an FBI agent.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 643

Italian man in EU subsidy scandal convicted of cocaine trafficking in ’Ndrangheta-linked group

OCCRP member centers found that an Italian man with business in Slovakia has been convicted on drug charges involving a group linked to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia. But the alleged ‘Ndrangheta links to Slovakia don’t end with him.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 547

Russian labor minister linked to ex-con Yakov Babchenko in scheme supplying prisons with kickback-fuelled contracts

The media have identified a previously unknown business partner of Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov — Yakov Babchenko, a former convict, poker and billiards enthusiast, and participant in budget-related schemes.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 583

Eduard Lebedev, mastermind behind shadow online casinos, erases digital footprint while fleeing Europol investigations

Russian fraudster Eduard Lebedev, linked to illegal online casinos and wanted by Europol, has been actively trying to erase mentions of himself online in recent months.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 819

Since 2018: Keir Starmer’s trip could be first UK leader visit to China since Theresa May

The proposed Chinese embassy could offer “security benefits”, No 10 said, amid speculation Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Beijing if the London diplomatic complex is approved.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 646

Up to 50 million people worldwide trapped in modern slavery fueled by crime rings

Around 50 million people worldwide are trapped in modern forms of slavery, “perpetuated by crime rings,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Tuesday.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 781

Octobank at the center of a vast laundering operation involving Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Iskandar Tursunov, Dmitriy Lee and Russian financial networks

A new investigation exposes how Uzbekistan’s Octobank has become a major laundering hub for Russian elites, funnelling money through casinos, crypto exchanges, and state-linked financial structures.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 799

Cyprus law firm tied to Russian oligarchs Vladimir Potanin and Viktor Kharitonin rebrands after offshore scandal

A Cypriot law firm long linked to major Russian oligarchs—including Vladimir Potanin and Viktor Kharitonin—has quietly rebranded and appears to have obtained diplomatic protection following a scandal in 2024.