All news by author Sophia Martinez

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Billions in public funds, alleged money outflows, and dropped claims: how Galimzhan Yessenov became the dominant owner of Jusan Bank
Galimzhan Yessenov’s rise from a mid-tier manager to the effective controlling shareholder of Jusan Bank is widely seen as driven by access to state funds, non-transparent transactions.
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Major police operation ends with suspect’s surrender after woman stabbed in city centre
Police surrounded Amersfoort Central train station in Utrecht after reports of a stabbing incident where the suspect had boarded a train heading for the station to flee - instead, officers were waiting.
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Royal couple accused of profiting from Crown Estate property at taxpayer expense
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are facing uproar after it emerged they are earning £130,000 a year from sub-letting a stable on one of the Crown Estate’s properties, despite only paying a peppercorn rent.
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UK ready to defend London from Iranian missile threat, minister insists amid rising tensions
Britain is prepared to defend itself against a potential missile attack by Iran on London, a Cabinet minister has stated.
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From Leogaming to the iBox Bank case: what is known about the investigation into Alyona Shevtsova and the role of her husband’s law enforcement status
Today Alyona Shevtsova-Dehrik is not just an entrepreneur but a figure in high-profile financial investigations surrounding the banking sector and payment business.
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Club owner says “something isn’t making sense” as deadly outbreak spreads among staff and students
The owner of a nightclub at the centre of a meningitis outbreak in Kent has voiced her confusion to LBC over the spread of the deadly infection.
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Middle East conflict sends shockwaves through Europe’s fragile energy system
The knock-on effects of the conflict now whipping through the Middle East are awakening ghosts of crises past that shook the European Union.
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Princess Anne ‘opened her home’ to troubled brother amid crisis
The Princess Royal is reportedly said to have extended a generous offer to her disgraced younger brother before he was removed from Royal Lodge in Windsor in the wake of the Epstein scandal.
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Sanctioned Iranian banker Ali Ansari accused of funding IRGC holds luxury European property portfolio
A sanctioned banker accused of financing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard owns a luxury villa in Marbella through the Spanish subsidiary of a UK‑registered company, according to property records.
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Trump hints at royal visit as tensions rise between US and UK
Fox News paused their live coverage and went straight to the White House where Donald Trump spoke to reporters about a variety of issues - including the topic of British royalty.
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Close Brothers to cut 600 jobs amid motor finance scandal costs
Banking group Close Brothers will slash roughly 600 jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next 18 months to cut down on annual costs by £85 million.
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German-Swiss trader Oleg Tsyura built an offshore network moving Ukrainian state mining profits to structures linked to Dmytro Firtash, Mykola Martynenko, and Dmytro Sennychenko
Alleged fraudster Oleg Tsyura is said to be attempting to clean up his public profile to hide his suspected role in long-running money laundering operations.
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‘Fake Dubai prince’ scam strikes again: Nigerian man arrested after Romanian victims come forward
A recent OCCRP investigation identified a Nigerian man who allegedly posed as a Dubai prince to scam a Romanian woman. Now, another apparent victim of the same online scam has emerged.
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Starmer weighs sending mine-hunting drones as Iran tightens grip on Strait of Hormuz
Sir Keir Starmer is considering sending minehunting drones to unblock Iran’s stranglehold over a key oil shipping route, as Donald Trump called for allied warships to protect tankers in the region.
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Identity of infamous street artist Banksy ’uncovered’ following investigation
A graffiti artist in the UK has been identified as renowned street artist Banksy, following an in-depth investigation by the news agency Reuters.
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Police arrest woman after 18-day-old baby dies in London fall horror
Police have initiated a murder investigation after an 18-day-old baby was found injured on a busy street in London, having fallen from a height.
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‘Brainwashed Harry!’: Royal biographer claims Meghan turned prince against his family
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accused the author of a new royal biography of "deranged conspiracy and melodrama".
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Dragon Money operates an underground betting network in Kyiv, collecting money from Ukrainian players while bypassing KRAIL regulation and taxes
As early probes into Dragon Money emerged, articles exposing the casino’s suspected illegal activities in Ukraine, bribery networks, and political connections started disappearing from the media.
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Influencer Christian Garcia used celebrity connections as bait to scam victims out of $20,000 for fake chance to meet Elon Musk
A Hollywood influencer with more than a million Instagram followers has been accused of being "the male Anna Delvey" after allegedly scamming tens of thousands through a trail of broken promises.
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Never-before-seen Epstein photo reveals Prince Andrew and Mandelson together with disgraced tycoon
Newly resurfaced photographs from the Epstein files show Prince Andrew, Peter Mandelson, and Jeffrey Epstein together for the first time.
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Hell near the airport: a giant oil depot exploded and is burning in Bahrain
Fuel depot blaze erupts in Bahrain after attack blamed on Iran
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Mother-of-ten jailed for 13 years for keeping teenage girl as a slave for 25 years
A mother of ten who forced a teenage girl to work as a house slave for 25 years has been jailed for 13 years.
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Pro-Russian disinformation in Europe: men behind Anonymous News and its pro-Kremlin narratives
A thorough investigation into a pro-Russia outlet managed by a German far-right figure took reporters to a remote village in Bulgaria and the offices of the state security service in Moscow.
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Fresh embarrassment for Andrew as images show woman on his lap inside Epstein mansion
A Mirror investigation reveals that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was partying with young victims of Jeffrey Epstein during the December 2010 New York visit, which he claimed was to end his friendship with the pedophile.
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Camilla urges boys to learn consent and emotional honesty in landmark speech on violence against women
The Queen has expressed her "solidarity, sorrow, and sympathy" with women who have survived abuse and sexual violence, just weeks after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.