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NEW: OCCRP has uncovered the role of private companies in US airstrikes in Somalia.

We identified & tracked planes owned by military contractors, then matched them w @Airwars strike data. Civilians collect intel on targets & even operate armed drones 1/
occrp.org/en/investigati…
"The ethical standard of who can pull the trigger has been slowly eroding over the last 30 years," says @seanmcfate with the @AtlanticCouncil.

"If they’re doing lethal operations, then I think we’ve crossed a threshold." 2/
The private planes, modified to perform military missions, are often hidden behind a chain of limited liability companies, masking their true owners. 3/
The companies that ultimately own or operate the planes have lucrative contracts with the US military & make handsome profits for private equity firms and institutional investors, including public pensions & university endowment funds. 4/
Some of the contracts are part of a secretive program called Big Safari, started to fast-track Cold War surveillance technology in 1952. Critics have questioned procurement procedures of the program that has awarded almost $158 billion to private companies since 2008. 5/
L3Harris Technologies is the biggest beneficiary of Big Safari. Two of its employees were killed in the Jan. 5 Al Shabab attack on the tiny base at #MandaBay Kenya, as they were taxiing a surveillance aircraft. 6/
This investigation is based on flight-tracking data collected over months. Read this blog post to learn how you can set up an antenna of your own.

And, follow OCCRP journalists @kzalan and @EmmanFre for updates to this story. 7/
medium.com/occrp-unreport…
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Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
@OCCRP
THREAD: It’s been an ugly week for human rights and press freedom in the heart of Europe. Day after day, peaceful protesters against Belarus’s blatantly falsified presidential election were met with shocking violence. 1/
occrp.org/en/daily/12929…
Nor were journalists spared. Dozens of reporters were beaten and arrested. Their families and colleagues were often left in agony, having no idea of where they were being kept or whether they had been injured. 2/
occrp.org/en/daily/12932…
Here’s a translation of a Facebook post by Stas Ivashkevich, a journalist in the OCCRP network who was released earlier in the week. It’s plain to see that the authorities hardly even pretended to uphold the rule of law. 3/
Read 12 tweets
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Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
@OCCRP
NEW: Every year, Latin American smuggling networks exploit thousands of people from Africa and Asia as they try to reach the US and Canada. We worked for 9 months with @CLIP_AmericaLat and 16 other partners to uncover these little-known routes. 1/ occrp.org/en/cruel-road-…
Migrants often start their journey in São Paulo — the main hub of South America’s smuggling networks — due to Brazil’s looser refugee laws and visa requirements.

This map shows some of the routes they have taken north, by nationality. 2/ occrp.org/en/cruel-road-…
It’s a lucrative business. Police documents, official statistics and accounts from migrants suggest these smuggling networks make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. @RonnyRojas reports the cash is then moved around the world via front men, businesses, and money transfers. 3/
Read 7 tweets
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Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
@OCCRP
NEW: We’ve uncovered a private banking network that allowed a group of Angolan elites to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into Europe.

EU officials learned of this suspected money-laundering scheme years ago, yet it still functions to this day. 1/
occrp.org/en/investigati…
At least $324 million passed through Portuguese branches of Angolan banks controlled by the group. Most of the funds originated in Angola; likely from Sonangol, the state oil giant, where some members of the clique had positions or connections. 2/
The group’s Angolan banks were able to maintain branches in Portugal despite red flags reported by the country's central bank in 2016. Aside from being controlled by a handful of gov't officials and financial execs, these banks had few anti-money laundering measures in place. 3/
Read 9 tweets

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