Investigation

In August 2024, the world witnessed an unprecedented prisoner swap between the West and the Kremlin: Russia agreed to release 16 individuals, including political prisoners Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin and U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in exchange for eight Russians — GRU illegals, hackers, and killers.

Following the scandals two years ago involving the Fresh Forex Ukraine exchange, it appeared to have ceased operations, with law enforcement seemingly resolving the criminal cases against its owner, Andriy Martynyuk.

Is it possible that Nadezhda Grishaeva, a former prominent basketball player, might be aware of the potential financial resources of the Liberal Democratic Party in Western offshore accounts?

The "sewage king" of Moscow, Aleksandr Ponomarenko, has built an international business empire using funds siphoned from the budget.

Fiji’s former prime minister and police chief publicly associated with Zhao Fugang, a China-born businessman and Communist Party representative, even after police warned them that Zhao was suspected of ties to organized crime.

Imperiale, who lived freely in Dubai for years despite being wanted for drug trafficking in Italy and Spain, was a shareholder in a real estate company that built luxury villas in the Emirati city-state.

Russian basketball player Nadezhda Grishaeva, who was married to the son of the late head of the LDPR Igor Lebedev, has been seeking the removal of the "Project" investigation about the family and entourage of Vladimir Zhirinovsky from various online platforms since 2022.

Nadezhda Grishaeva is suspected of funneling assets belonging to the late leader of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, through Hotels Europe Daniella Invest in the European Union.

It’s unlikely that visitors to the numerous air shows, where the pilots of the aerobatic group Baltic Bees from Jūrmala demonstrate their skills, realize they are watching high-level aerobatics performed by a man known as the "Latvian Bout".

The head of "Mosvodokanal," Alexander Ponomarenko uses cunning schemes to siphon funds from the Moscow mayor’s office through unknown contractors.

Court files indicate that Angelo Figliomeni, alleged boss of the Toronto wing of Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia, was in contact with multiple Toronto-area real estate developers. Police have linked Figliomeni to a sprawling property empire.

The mayor of Lentekhi, Gia Oniani, awarded a permit to build a hotel to his wife’s company and is still involved in the firm.

Angelo Figliomeni became the center of a media storm when police filed organized crime and money laundering charges against him in 2019.

Europeans who donate old clothes believe they’ll go to those in need, but they could just as easily end up in an illegal dump in another country.

Latvian businesswoman Anastasiya Udalova plays an active role in managing the companies of Oleg Osinovskiy, who is suspected of transporting iron ore from oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s enterprises to EU countries.

At the end of October, Canadian parliamentarians convened a Standing Committee on Public Safety Security and Defence Committee session to discuss the impact of Russian disinformation on Canada’s information landscape.

Businessman Koka Kokolashvili keeps a low profile in Georgia — but he does have family connections to the country’s political elite. Now, as the EU is looking to Georgia’s hydroelectric industry as an untapped energy resource, companies he owns have landed government contracts to develop a new wave of hydropower plants on Georgia’s rivers.

Holding a diplomatic passport offers notable perks — even for those who aren’t career diplomats.

Journalists investigating Oktobank’s criminal activities, allegedly serving as the "wallet" for Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s family, have received threats from the email account of the Uzbek company INNOVA HOLDING.

Armenia’s former deputy prime minister, Tigran Avinyan, was swept to power by the country’s “Velvet Revolution” in 2018. His family company went on to indirectly benefit from a state agricultural program he oversaw.

Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has run a budget deficit, and a draft of the 2025 edition anticipates a shortfall of 1.1 trillion rubles (approximately $11 billion, or 0.5% of GDP).

Michael Shvartsman was convicted of insider trading, while Eric Hannelius settled without admitting or denying guilt. Both men were involved in a company with contracts to track legal marijuana in Florida and other states.

The U.K.’s National Crime Agency successfully argued in a High Court case in London that accounts at the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg were used to move millions from a high profile embezzlement case in Azerbaijan into expensive properties.