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Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
@OCCRP
Sep 1, 2020 • 11 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
NEW: Meet #GroupAmerica, one of the most pervasive and violent drug-trafficking gangs you’ve never heard of.

Some say its name stems from rumored ties between the gang's leaders and the US government — maybe even the CIA. 1/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
In the 1980s, a Serb took control of the Westies, a New York Irish-American gang that became Group America.

Decades later, police around the world are impressed by the gang's global scope — and stunned that it remains active. 2/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
Unlike the cartels that control the whole cocaine supply chain, Group America specializes in being the middleman between sellers in Europe and producers in South America — where the gang’s second-in-command may be in prison for life. 3/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
OCCRP journalist Pavla Holcová (@pafak) had to pose as a prostitute to interview this notorious gangster in Peruvian prison.

Read her first-hand account of the conversation. 4/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
As the founder and editor of @investigacecz, our Czech member center, Holcová also investigated Group America’s influence in Slovakia — a coveted EU jurisdiction for traffickers in part because of lax residency laws. 5/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
Group America has operations in several countries, but much of its money is invested in Serbia, the gang’s center of operations since the fall of Yugoslavia. 6/ occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
But Group America’s influence in Serbia extends beyond drug money investments.

Its members were linked to acts of terrorism and assassinations against reformist politicians after the ouster of Slobodan Milošević.

Story reported by @StevanOCCRP 7/ occrp.org/en/group-ameri…
As Group America’s second-in-command sits in Peruvian prison, its leader continues to live comfortably in Queens, NY despite a drug trafficking indictment that has languished since 2003.

Federal officials declined comment on the unusual case. 8/ Miljanić’s row house in Que...
Despite his criminal reputation in Europe, Group America's leader Mileta Miljanić lives in the open in New York and in Serbia.

Here he is with Serbia’s foreign minister during a 2016 televised event in Manhattan. 9/ Image
More than one senior police source has attributed Group America’s success to ties with security and intelligence agencies.

Our reporting indicates that the gang may indeed have an "in" with the U.S. government. 10/
From terrorism in Belgrade to cocaine-trafficking on four continents.

Use this timeline for a tick-tock into Group America’s decades-long history of organized crime, which starts in New York in the 1970s. 11/
occrp.org/en/group-ameri…

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More from @OCCRP

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Jan 28
NEW: A Cypriot company ultimately owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich set up a fake superyacht rental business in an apparent attempt to dodge millions of euros in tax, leaked emails show.

Here’s what we found with @TBIJ and @BBCNews 👇

occrp.org/en/project/cyp…
Between 1999-2010, Abramovich assembled a $1.2 billion fleet of superyachts.

But operating superyachts is expensive, and in the EU, value-added tax must be paid on everything needed to keep them in service…

… unless they were used for commercial purposes.

(Pixsell/Alamy) Image
In 2005, people working for Abramovich set up a complex scheme via Cypriot company Blue Ocean Yacht Management renting the superyachts to customers.

In reality, the “customers” hiring the yachts were companies owned by an offshore trust — ultimately benefitting Abramovich. Image
Read 6 tweets
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Jan 15
🇰🇪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-co…
Njagi was dragged into a vehicle by four hooded men, tortured, and taken to a building where he remained in a room alone. He was fed once a day.

Over a month after his abduction, Njagi was dropped on the side of the road. He had no idea where he was, but eventually got home.
Njagi said he believes the number of people kidnapped is much higher than reported.

The disappearances appear to follow a similar pattern and target people who have been critical of Kenyan President William Ruto's government. Image
Read 5 tweets
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Jan 14
NEW: The fugitive alleged boss of a Philippine human trafficking and cyberfraud operation purchased Cyprus citizenship and stashed 2 million euros in a real estate firm there, reporters have discovered.

Our scoop with @TheCIReN and @rapplerdotcom 👇 Image credit: Joann Manabat/Rappler
Philippine authorities have charged Huang Zhiyang with human trafficking, sued him for alleged money laundering, and frozen at least five of his bank accounts.

But before he was a suspect, Huang obtained citizenship in Cyprus by investing 2 million euros in a real estate firm. Presidential anti-corruption officers in the Philippines showed several of Huang Zhiyang’s passports following a raid on his villa. Photo credit: Joann Manabat/Rappler
Philippine officials said they were unaware of Huang’s Cypriot funds until reporters informed them.

Authorities have no immediate plans to pursue the funds.
Read 5 tweets
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Dec 27, 2024
Less than two months before Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell, Syrian intelligence was busy spying. Its work included targeting journalists and their families.

Exclusive documents shared with our partner @SIRAJ_SYRIA show how Assad’s secret service targeted journalists. Photo credit: IMAGESLIVE/Alamy Stock Photo
Discovered at General Intelligence Directorate (GID) headquarters after rebel groups took power on Dec. 8, the documents reveal the Assad regime’s paranoia about independent media.

Journalists exposing corruption were framed as spies. The General Intelligence Directorate in Damascus, Syria. Photo credit: Ali Ibrahim/SIRAJ
One story that rattled Assad’s GID?

An investigation by SIRAJ and OCCRP that traced the supply chain sending European trucks to Syria despite sanctions, uncovering how loopholes let Volvo, Scania, and Mercedes trucks enter the country.

occrp.org/en/investigati…
Read 5 tweets
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Dec 23, 2024
NEW: In Honiara, Solomon Islands, clean water is a luxury. Where floods bring disease, children bathe in polluted rivers and bottled water costs half a day’s wages.

A $20M @ABD_HQ plant funded in 2019 was supposed to help, but not a single drop of concrete has yet been poured.👇Discarded plastic water bottles line the shore of the Mataniko river in Honiara. Photo Credit: Charlie Piringi/In-depth Solomons.
The Kongulai Water Plant was meant to deliver 15M liters of clean water daily.

But from day one, the project seemed damned: lowball bids, blacklisted contractors, and political interference.

Here’s what went wrong. Solomon Water’s plan to expand and upgrade its clean water services in Honiara. Credit: Edin Pašović, OCCRP/Solomon Water
Solomon Water, the state utility, expressed concerns to @ABD_HQ about accepting the lowest bid, from an Indian joint venture whose bid numbers didn’t seem to add up.

Sources told OCCRP that @ADB_HQ awarded the contract anyway.
Read 8 tweets
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Profile picture
Dec 18, 2024
NEW: A grandson of Tajikistan’s president purchased a luxury Dubai property when he was just 9 years old, leaked real estate records show.

But where did the money come from?

Now 18-years-old, Erajjon Gulov’s three-bedroom apartment is valued at $1.3 million. 🧵 Palm Jumeirah archipelago in Dubai. Photo credit: Ole Martin Wold
Under UAE law, children between the ages of 7 and 18 can buy property with the approval of a legal guardian.

Back in 2015, Gulov’s mother and presidential daughter Parvina Rahmonova had no known source of income.

His father earned a presumably modest salary as a civil servant.
In his 30+ years as head of state, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has promoted family members to key positions in government — including his son Ashraf Gulov.

After his posting at the Tajik embassy in Moscow, Gulov served as Tajikistan’s ambassador to Turkey from 2021-2024. Emomali Rahmon, the long-ruling president of Tajikistan. Photo credit: American Photo Archive/Alamy Stock Photo.
Read 7 tweets

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