ICIJ Profile picture
Sep 20, 2020 14 tweets 10 min read Read on X
NEW: Together with @BuzzFeedNews and 108 other media organizations we reveal the #FinCENFiles – our latest cross-border investigation.

Using super secretive bank documents and months of reporting, we expose how banks fail to stop dirty money flows. bit.ly/3kDpxwN
#FinCENFiles reveals $2 trillion worth of payments – revealing big-name banks (you’ve heard of them) moved suspicious money even after promising officials they would fix money laundering controls.
These global giants have moved masses of dirty money tied to mobsters, fraudsters and corrupt regimes – sometimes it's for people they can’t identify.
And – you can explore some of the transactions we found here. bit.ly/2ZUGRVV
“People may not be aware of issues like money laundering, but they feel the effects every day because these are what make large-scale crime pay — from opioids to arms trafficking to stealing COVID-19 related unemployment benefits,” @j_vittori said. bit.ly/2EmoTEq
We found the banking secrets of politicians and public figures like Paul Manafort, a former Ukrainian presidential advisor, a former DRC vice-president, and an alleged front man for Venezuela’s oil minister.

You can explore 20 profiles here: bit.ly/3hO5Cth #ddj
Why the #FinCENFiles?

Experts tell us the system that banks work in is “largely toothless” and that real change requires “fines and/or jail.”

Don't miss any updates: bit.ly/33qPSsl Image
A special thanks to all the ICIJ Insiders – our community of readers who support investigations like #FinCENFiles, #PanamaPapers, #LuandaLeaks and more!

Help us tell these important stories. Join our community today: bit.ly/2N8GhhQ
#FinCENFIles continues with reporting from @spencerwoodman who looked at @HSBC's broken pledge.

Together with @ArmandoInfo's @Pmarcano11, @sashachavkin looked at how money has flowed out of Venezuela and into the pockets of so-called 'boligarchs'.

In Europe – @KarrieKehoe, @sbowers00 and @holger_r spent months digging to reveal the secretive network of formation agencies.

We also found $9.3 billion worth of transactions in the #FinCENFiles that related to one of the world’s largest gold traders and refiners – Kaloti.
#FinCENFiles also delved into the world of art trade... and mysterious companies
"The bank was like the getaway car in a robbery,” Thomas Creal, a forensic accountant, said.

Kolomoisky and associates transferred millions from a Ukraine Bank to U.S. properties. #FinCENFiles

We also pull back the veil on the discreet world of private banking.

“To get banks to behave, there has to be sure and swift enforcement against bad actors," Paul Pelletier, a former U.S. Justice Department official told us. #FinCENFiles bit.ly/305DbRw

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with ICIJ

ICIJ Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ICIJorg

Aug 2
Since the 1950s, Israel Bonds, which sells bonds to fund Israel’s government, has evolved, increasingly courting banks and other institutional investors.

In recent years, U.S. states and municipalities have sunk billions into Israeli bonds. buff.ly/3SwnUUM
Thousands of records obtained by ICIJ reveal Israel Bonds’ tight relationship with U.S. institutional investors, and how some officials who buy Israeli bonds have had access to gala dinners, cocktail celebrations, and private meetings with Israeli leaders.buff.ly/3SwnUUM
A spokesperson for Israel Bonds told ICIJ that the bonds are safe investments with steady returns, and described the group’s sales strategy as “just like any other business.” But ethics experts say such dealings are not always so straightforward.

buff.ly/3SwnUUM
A quote by Richard W. Painter, a law professor who was a chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, reads “These types of practices, the mixing up of the personal and official, seem to go well beyond what’s seen as acceptable.”
Read 6 tweets
May 14
Interpol has asked governments worldwide to find and provisionally arrest Isabel dos Santos, yet the former Angolan billionaire isn't hiding. Instead, she often posts about her lavish lifestyle at a Dubai residence.

The country has remained her safe haven.buff.ly/3ykHpIP
Newly leaked Dubai property data reviewed by ICIJ for #DubaiUnlocked reveal that dos Santos and her mother, Tatiana “Kukanova” Regan, co-own an apartment in a building called Sadaf, Arabic for “seashell,” overlooking Dubai Marina and the Persian Gulf. buff.ly/3ykHpIP
The eldest daughter of Angola’s former president, dos Santos came under scrutiny by authorities on three continents after ICIJ’s #LuandaLeaks revealed how lucrative deals obtained under her father’s rule helped her become Africa’s richest woman. buff.ly/3UY5DBE
Read 5 tweets
May 12
Did you miss the launch of our #SwaziSecrets investigation?

Catch up with the stories our partners worked on in this thread!
@amaBhungane, @AJEnglish, @FinUncovered, @OpenSecretsZA, @jeune_afrique, @TheAfricaReport, @MakandayMedia, @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/4dBIMTK
@amaBhungane @AJEnglish @FinUncovered @OpenSecretsZA @jeune_afrique @TheAfricaReport @MakandayMedia @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/4dwsA61
@amaBhungane @AJEnglish @FinUncovered @OpenSecretsZA @jeune_afrique @TheAfricaReport @MakandayMedia @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/3UWbd6r
Read 11 tweets
Mar 26
A member of the Qatari royal family invested about $50 million in Newsmax, bolstering the conservative outlet at a time when Qatar was facing diplomatic pressure and seeking U.S. allies.

buff.ly/3ITH5mh
A photo of Donald Trump besides a photo of Christopher Ruddy. The headline reads, “Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax.”
Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, a former Qatari government official and the owner of a London-based investment fund, Heritage Advisors, invested in Newsmax in 2019 and 2020.

The investment has not been previously reported. buff.ly/3ITH5mh
The documents were obtained by ICIJ from a trove of roughly 100,000 leaked files from Genesis Trust, a Cayman Islands-based financial services provider now called Highvern.

Newsmax and Heritage Advisors confirmed the investment. buff.ly/3ITH5mh
Read 8 tweets
Dec 28, 2023
ICIJ's 2023 investigations stretched around the world, exposing greenwashing in the global sustainability industry, labor trafficking in the Middle East, and the sprawling financial networks that have powered the Putin regime.

Let's take a look back: bit.ly/479C9DM
Image
ICIJ-led investigation #CyprusConfidential revealed how the EU member state has served as a hideaway for Russian wealth, with Cypriot firms moving vast sums for oligarchs, including after Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion.

bit.ly/488EzUo
An illustration depicting a dome characteristic of Russian Orthodox churches balancing precariously on a Greek-style column. The headline reads, “Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies.”
Two wealthy Haitians sanctioned by Canada owned or had other links to almost 20 companies and trusts created in some of the world’s most secretive tax havens, according to documents from the #PandoraPapers.

bit.ly/3TAPf9Z
Composite image of scanned passports and two men carrying a coffin. The headline reads, “How US lawyers and bankers aided powerful Haitian tycoons now sanctioned over corruption by Canada.”
Read 7 tweets
Nov 17, 2023
1/8 #CyprusConfidential reveals the pivotal role the Mediterranean island plays in helping oligarchs move and hide their wealth. Here are six billionaires identified in the 3.6 million document leak: bit.ly/40GMmpy
2/8 #CyprusConfidential details how, just days before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, more than $1.7 billion worth of shares from Russian steel giant Evraz were transferred from former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich’s BVI-based company to himself. Image
3/8 ICIJ’s partners for #CyprusConfidential also report that Abramovich wielded significantly more influence in European professional football than was previously known: bit.ly/3sDwmIa
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(