NEW: Tajikistan’s most prominent microlender, Imon International, was built to help women entrepreneurs and has done so for 20 years.

But Imon’s local founders have just endured a hostile takeover by its foreign investors — which include the EBRD. 1/ occrp.org/en/investigati…
Imon was founded by two women in the wake of Tajikistan’s brutal civil war.

Their non-profit foundation was bought out by Vincenzo Trani, a well-connected Italian businessman who lives in Moscow. 2/ occrp.org/en/investigati…
His efforts to gain control were aided by Tajikistan’s National Bank, whose deputy head is the son-in-law of the country’s president.

The bid was helped by Imon’s other foreign shareholders, including the EBRD. The prestigious development bank even acquired a larger stake. 3/
Internal documents obtained by OCCRP show that even before the takeover, Imon had problems.

The institution took on suspicious clients who sent millions of dollars abroad through their accounts — with little oversight. 4/ occrp.org/en/investigati…
The largest such client was supposedly an importer of construction materials. But it owned no warehouse and was registered — just days before opening its accounts — in this residential building in Dushanbe. And nobody seemed to ask very many questions. 5/ Image
It’s possible Imon’s questionable clients were intermediaries used by Tajik merchants to buy goods abroad — but it’s hard to say.

The int'l development banks and impact investors that ran Imon were overseeing an institution that couldn’t know for sure. 6/ Image

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More from @OCCRP

22 Jun
NEW: OCCRP and @riseprojectro🇷🇴 reveal the first public evidence tying an official at the world’s largest tobacco company to organized crime in Europe.

The story centers around a shipping container filled with junk to elude customs. #ChinaTobacco 1/ occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
How The Scheme Worked:

➡️ On paper: 17 tons of Chinese cigarettes made in the EU were sent to Libya, thus avoiding excise taxes.

➡️ In reality: They were offloaded to be sold in Europe. 17 tons of junk were sent to Libya in an identical container. 2/ cdn.occrp.org/projects/great…
The people behind this scheme included:

➡️ Three smugglers with links to an Italian organized crime group.

➡️ An executive at China Tobacco’s European branch: China Tobacco International Europe Company (CTIEC).

CTIEC makes some of Europe’s most smuggled brands. 3/ Image
Read 6 tweets
22 Jun
NEW: A relatively new tobacco company in Brazil has doubled profit in the past year. But the growth of this firm has come with a human cost.

OCCRP and @TheInterceptBr reveal labor rights abuses and debt traps in Brazil’s tobacco industry #ChinaTobacco 1/ occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
China Brasil Tobacos Exportadora (CBT) is a joint venture between the Brazilian subsidiaries of a US firm and China Tobacco.

Though China Tobacco has evaded the scrutiny faced by its US-owned partner, including lawsuits from labor rights defenders. 2/ occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
A farm contracted by one of the firms that owns CBT was found using "slave labor." The firm was held partly responsible, but the penalties were later removed under new legislation.

In another case, workers were forced to resign after revealing their pregnancies to bosses. 3/
Read 5 tweets
22 Jun
NEW: #ChinaTobacco has exported hundreds of millions of cigarettes to Ukraine even though none of its brands are legally sold there.

One of the buyers is a firm owned by an ex-border official with ties to the president.

From OCCRP and @kyivpost 🇺🇦 1/
occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
Leaked trade documents helped reporters identify Ukrainian companies that bought cigarettes from China Tobacco’s factory in Romania, which has flooded Ukraine with 500m+ cigarettes over the past seven years.

Three of the buyers are under investigation for smuggling. 2/
One firm under investigation, we reveal, is owned by Vadym Sliusariev, a former border official with ties to Ukraine’s president.

Sliusariev was recently accused of smuggling by the former president of Georgia. 3/
Read 6 tweets
22 Jun
NEW: Latin America is awash in illegal cigarettes, many of which were made by the world’s biggest tobacco company: #ChinaTobacco

How did they get there? Major suppliers, we reveal, are in Panama.

Our latest with @cuestion_p 🇨🇴 and @ConcolonPanama 🇵🇦 1/ occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
Reporters reveal that the China National Tobacco Corporation — a state enterprise known as “China Tobacco” — is connected to a network of Panama-based companies that have shipped huge amounts of its cigarettes to Latin American countries where there is no legal market. 2/
Why would a tobacco company want its cigarettes sold on the black market?

It’s a tactic straight from the Big Tobacco playbook: allow your brands to flood illicit markets, then lobby to legalize them. China Tobacco is just following suit, according to experts. 3/
Read 10 tweets
22 Jun
NEW: Together with 12 partners, we reveal how #ChinaTobacco 🇨🇳 — the world’s largest tobacco company — has flooded black markets worldwide 🚬

Ethically dubious and, in some cases, outright illegal practices are often involved — especially smuggling.
occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
What is China Tobacco?

It’s a Chinese state-owned conglomerate that produces 44% of the world’s cigarettes. Most are smoked domestically, but int’l sales have surged since it jumped on China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2015.

Read this FAQ for more: occrp.org/en/loosetobacc…
Since China Tobacco went global, its brands — like Regina or Marble — have popped up around the world, including in countries where it's illegal to sell them.

The cigarettes are often made in factories outside of China with tobacco sourced from farms abroad as well.
Read 7 tweets
16 Jun
NEW: In 2018, Greek authorities stopped a Syrian ship bound for Libya. Stashed aboard was "Captagon," a speed-like drug popular in the Middle East.

With @irpinvestigates, we reveal key details about this cargo, including its ties to organized crime. 1/ occrp.org/en/investigati…
Over the past decade, Syria has become the region’s preeminent supplier of Captagon, the former brand name for a stimulant banned in the 1980s. 2/
The cash-strapped Syrian government has been accused of profiting from the robust trade. Huge amounts of the product are known to flow through the Assad family fiefdom of Latakia. 3/
Read 6 tweets

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