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14 Oct, 9 tweets, 7 min read

@FbdnStories

🏆 The #PegasusProject, a collaborative international investigation led by @FbdnStories, has just won the 2021 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. The award ceremony was held in the European Parliament today. THREAD ⬇️ europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-… 1/9

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories This project involved 80+ reporters working for 17 outlets across the world, including OCCRP. It showed how “Pegasus” spyware made by NSO Group, an Israeli tech company, was used to infiltrate the cell phones of journalists, activists, and politicians. 2/9 occrp.org/en/the-pegasus…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories Among those targeted by the software — which NSO Group claims is meant only for use against criminals and terrorists — was Khadija Ismayilova, an award-winning and frequently persecuted Azerbaijani investigative reporter. 3/9
occrp.org/en/the-pegasus…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories The software had almost certainly been sold by NSO Group to the Azerbaijani government, well-known for its use of digital repressive measures against dissidents and critical journalists. /4
iphronline.org/wp-content/upl… 4/9

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories Other journalists in the OCCRP network found to have been targeted by the Pegasus spyware include Szabolcs Panyi of the Hungarian outlet @direkt36. 5/9 occrp.org/en/the-pegasus…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories @direkt36 There were many more. Here’s our interactive feature showing just some of the people around the world whose names appeared on a leaked list of possible Pegasus targets. 6/9 cdn.occrp.org/projects/proje…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories @direkt36 But where did NSO Group come from? How does it fit into the spyware ecosystem? And how does the market for software ‘exploits’ enable these abuses? Here’s our explainer. 7/9 occrp.org/en/the-pegasus…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories @direkt36 And here’s more about the #PegasusProject and the data it’s based on. We’re proud to have worked with @FbdnStories and dozens of other journalists around the world on this investigation, and to share this recognition with them. 8/9
occrp.org/en/the-pegasus…

@FbdnStories

@FbdnStories @direkt36 Many more stories, including links to our partners’ work, are on our #PegasusProject page. Thanks to our readers and members for supporting us. We’ll keep at it. occrp.org/en/the-pegasus… 9/9

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Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

14 Oct

NEW: Two obscure UK companies have exported millions of dollars of mineral fertilizer and petroleum products made at state-run plants in Turkmenistan.

We found they have secret ties to the nephews of the country's authoritarian president.
#PandoraPapers

occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

An obscure Scottish company that doesn’t even have a website, Caran Holdings exported vast amounts of fertilizer from a state chemical plant built with a Japanese loan.

Today’s investigation reveals how Caran is connected to President Berdimuhamedov's nephew, Hajymyrat Rejepov.

Delanore Limited, another mysterious UK firm, couldn’t be reached by phone. This company became a major exporter of petrochemicals from state-run facilities.
Another nephew of the president, Shamyrat Rejepov, had a secret ‘power of attorney’ giving him control over the company.

Read 5 tweets

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

13 Oct

NEW: Switzerland-based commodities giant Trafigura paid influential insider Kudakwashe Tagwirei $100 million in fees for his help securing a sweetheart deal for access to Zimbabwe’s fuel market.

occrp.org/en/investigati…

As Zimbabwe’s economy has floundered, Tagwirei — a tycoon known as “Queen Bee” due to his vast economic influence — has flourished, benefitting from shadowy contracts worth billions and preferential access to minerals and scarce foreign currency.

OCCRP learned he also received $100 million in fees from Trafigura for helping them dominate Zimbabwe’s fuel market. “Only one set of interests controls the fuel: Trafigura and Tagwirei,” Zimbabwe's former finance minister told OCCRP.

Read 6 tweets

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

7 Oct

NEW: The longtime speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Oktay Asadov, had a $30,000 annual salary. But his family owns real estate worth millions in London, Moscow, and Dubai. #PandoraPapers 1/ occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

Asadov’s wife (the director of a state kindergarten) bought an apartment in the Triumph Palace, a neo-Stalinist Moscow skyscraper. She also owns a large building that houses this unusual-looking sauna. 2/

One of Asadov’s daughters bought an apartment in the Al Bateen Residences in Dubai (the tall building on the right). Her husband also bought office space in the Emirate, as well as a three-bedroom London apartment in prestigious Regent’s Park. 3/

Read 5 tweets

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

6 Oct

NEW: The head of Russia’s Channel One — a state-owned pro-government outlet — used offshore structures to secretly acquire a stake in a massive project to renovate old Soviet movie theaters. #PandoraPapers 1/ occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

Among the 39 movie theaters were outstanding examples of Soviet modernism. Some were named after capitals of the Soviet republics and drew inspiration from regional architectural styles. Here are the ‘Sofia,’ the ‘Yerevan,’ and the ‘Baku.’ 2/

These buildings were put up for auction by the Moscow city government in 2014 and acquired at the minimum price, with no competitive bidding, by a conglomerate called ADG Group. They were meant to be renovated and modernized. 3/

Read 4 tweets

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

3 Oct

What’s a former beauty pageant winner doing with $30m? And what does this have to do with two powerful oligarchs who made their fortunes in Kazakhstan’s notoriously corrupt natural resources sector? #PandoraPapers 1/
occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

Now a director of two dance institutions in the Central Asian country, Assel Kurmabayeva’s long been rumoured to be the tokal, or unofficial (third) wife, of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev — arguably the most powerful man in the country. 2/

The Pandora Papers leak reveals how in 2010, she received a payment through highly obscure entities in offshore jurisdictions connected to Vladimir Ni and Vladimir Kim, oligarchs believed to be close confidants of Nazarbayev. 3/

Read 4 tweets

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

@OCCRP

3 Oct

#PandoraPapers: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš set up a British Virgin Islands company in 2009 that secretly loaned €15m to other shell companies he owned in the U.S. and Monaco.

The money was eventually used to buy luxury French real estate. 1/
occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

Babiš, who ran on an anti-corruption platform, has previously criticized his political rivals for their use of offshore companies.

But he used similar corporate structures to hide his wealth, which he invested in some of these properties. 2/

“This scheme is a textbook example of money laundering,” one financial crime expert told OCCRP.

Babiš “ended up buying a chateau with money of potentially suspicious origin,” said another. 3/

Read 4 tweets

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