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8 Jun, 5 tweets, 1 min read
NEW: The Sandesara brothers, from one of India’s most ostentatiously wealthy families, have been on the run since 2017. Our latest investigation shows how they’ve evaded justice with the help of high-ranking officials in Albania and Nigeria. 1/ occrp.org/en/investigati…
Once a staple of the Indian tabloids for their lavish spending, brothers Chetan and Nitin Sandesara fled the country after being accused of stealing and laundering more than $700 million through their businesses. 2/
They soon found friends elsewhere.

The brothers and two other family members were swiftly granted Albanian citizenship after pledging to invest over $33m in construction projects alongside their local partner — investments that are now being investigated for money laundering. 3/
Judges in Albania and Nigeria, where the Sandesaras also have citizenship, have rebuffed India’s attempts to extradite them, arguing they are being persecuted for their political and religious affiliations.

A prominent Indian lawyer called the argument "laughable." 4/
Documents obtained by OCCRP show Indian state companies have also continued to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil sourced from the Sandesaras’ Nigerian firm after the family went on the run. 5/

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25 May
NEW: Belarus has given away land worth $1 billion to construction companies owned by an influential Serbian family, who have churned huge revenues while squeezing out local competition. 1/
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24 May
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NEW: An oil deal helped catapult Todd Kozel, co-founder of Gulf Keystone, to a new level of wealth, leading to a life of private jets, fine wines, and strippers.

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21 May
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