All news

04 Dec 2025 632

Italian man in EU subsidy scandal convicted of cocaine trafficking in ’Ndrangheta-linked group

OCCRP member centers found that an Italian man with business in Slovakia has been convicted on drug charges involving a group linked to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia. But the alleged ‘Ndrangheta links to Slovakia don’t end with him.

Crime

04 Dec 2025 619

Tragic Gold Coast crash: Pilot seen taking cocaine and drinking heavily days before take-off

The pilot had been seen taking cocaine at a party two days before the tragic crash which claimed the lives of four people, an inquest heard.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 533

Russian labor minister linked to ex-con Yakov Babchenko in scheme supplying prisons with kickback-fuelled contracts

The media have identified a previously unknown business partner of Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov — Yakov Babchenko, a former convict, poker and billiards enthusiast, and participant in budget-related schemes.

World

04 Dec 2025 721

Country Ever After star passes away at 45 after long cancer battle

A Netflix star has died aged only 45, and told fans prior to her death not to "stay in the darkness of this moment". Criscilla Anderson had been diagnosed with colon cancer seven years ago.

Investigation

04 Dec 2025 570

Eduard Lebedev, mastermind behind shadow online casinos, erases digital footprint while fleeing Europol investigations

Russian fraudster Eduard Lebedev, linked to illegal online casinos and wanted by Europol, has been actively trying to erase mentions of himself online in recent months.

03 Dec 2025 722

Congress releases photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Pedophile Island’: Secret rooms and words like ’deception’ and ’power’

House Democrats released a handful of photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island on Wednesday, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive place where Epstein is alleged to have trafficked young girls.

Crime

03 Dec 2025 713

Attack in central London: woman in 20s reports rape in historic Victoria Embankment Gardens

The victim, in her 20s, reported she had been attacked in Victoria Embankment Gardens, Westminster, at around 4am on Tuesday.

Politics

03 Dec 2025 842

Keir Starmer ’completely losing the plot’: PM defends against claims Richard Hughes was forced out

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told Prime Minister’s Questions that Richard Hughes, the former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), was "forced out for telling the truth" after the chancellor had "twisted the facts" on the Budget black hole.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 808

Since 2018: Keir Starmer’s trip could be first UK leader visit to China since Theresa May

The proposed Chinese embassy could offer “security benefits”, No 10 said, amid speculation Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Beijing if the London diplomatic complex is approved.

World

03 Dec 2025 781

Diamond art: Rare Fabergé egg, encrusted with 4,500 diamonds, sold for record price

The crystal-and-diamond Winter Egg, one of only seven Imperial Fabergé eggs in private hands, sold for £22.9 million (€27.5 million), breaking the world record for a Fabergé piece.

World

03 Dec 2025 590

’Dr. Evil’ on the run: Russian Ilya Sorokin charged with cruel treatment of Ukrainian POWs

“Dr. Evil,” the alleged sadistic Russian prison medic, exposed by OCCRP and RFE/RL Schemes, has been charged in absentia by Ukraine with war crimes.

World

03 Dec 2025 725

€18,000 Fabergé Octopussy pendant still missing after theft suspect swallowed it

The suspect remains in custody after allegedly swallowing an €18,000 Fabergé octopus pendant from an Auckland store. The pendant, which is a special edition James Bond item commemorating the film Octopussy, has not yet been recovered.

News

03 Dec 2025 732

Meghan Markle showcases $460k in jewellery in new Netflix holiday special

Meghan Markle is ringing in Christmas with crackers, gougères, and lots of bling - in the form of jewellery worth more than $460,000 in her brand new Netflix special.

Finance

03 Dec 2025 658

Rachel Reeves scraps ’expensive’ electric car tax: Disabled drivers set to save £440 annually

Disabled drivers could be set for a major boost due to a little-known Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) change in Rachel Reeves’ budget.

World

03 Dec 2025 635

Energoatom corruption scandal: Probe targets Timur Mindich, business partner of Zelenskyy

Ukrainian authorities detained a former deputy energy minister today on suspicion of embezzling funds from the state-owned nuclear power company.

News

03 Dec 2025 764

Oleg Tsyura helps Russia bypass Western sanctions: inside his cross-border network connecting UMCC suspects and the MidUral industrial empire

A recent investigation uncovers how Ukrainian-Swiss businessman Oleg Tsyura is positioned at the intersection of Ukrainian corruption networks and Russian metallurgical giants that have managed to remain unaffected by Western sanctions.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 637

Up to 50 million people worldwide trapped in modern slavery fueled by crime rings

Around 50 million people worldwide are trapped in modern forms of slavery, “perpetuated by crime rings,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Tuesday.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 775

Octobank at the center of a vast laundering operation involving Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Iskandar Tursunov, Dmitriy Lee and Russian financial networks

A new investigation exposes how Uzbekistan’s Octobank has become a major laundering hub for Russian elites, funnelling money through casinos, crypto exchanges, and state-linked financial structures.

World

03 Dec 2025 766

Russian leader Vladimir Putin rejects US proposals for peace as Donald Trump’s top envoys brief White House on Moscow talks

The UK accused Vladimir Putin of "sabre rattling" after he said Russia was ready for war against Europe as he resisted Donald Trump’s peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Politics

03 Dec 2025 659

UK’s King Charles III welcomes German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for first state visit in 27 years

The Prince and Princess of Wales have extended a warm welcome to the German president and his wife as they landed at London Heathrow on the nation’s first state visit to the UK in 27 years.

Crime

03 Dec 2025 642

Nursery worker UK’s Vincent Chan pleads guilty to 26 offences of sexual abuse and child indecent image charges

A nursery worker who recorded himself sexually abusing four children has pleaded guilty to 26 offenses. Vincent Chan, 45, from North London, admitted his "calculated and predatory pattern of abuse" in court on Wednesday.

World

03 Dec 2025 533

UK citizen Louis Johe Jarvie stabbed multiple times in bar fight, collapses bleeding heavily on Thailand’s Phuket island

Louis Johe Jarvie suffered multiple wounds after he got into a fight while drinking at a bar in Maya Beach, in Cherng Talay.

World

03 Dec 2025 538

Former EU foreign policy chief Italian Federica Mogherini formally accused of procurement fraud and corruption

Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and two others have been formally accused of procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest, and violation of professional secrecy, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.

Investigation

03 Dec 2025 791

Cyprus law firm tied to Russian oligarchs Vladimir Potanin and Viktor Kharitonin rebrands after offshore scandal

A Cypriot law firm long linked to major Russian oligarchs—including Vladimir Potanin and Viktor Kharitonin—has quietly rebranded and appears to have obtained diplomatic protection following a scandal in 2024.

Tech

03 Dec 2025 1004

ESET warns Telegram’s default chats are not end-to-end encrypted, leaving users exposed to server access and state surveillance

Cybersecurity firm ESET has released a new study concluding that Telegram is not a secure messaging platform, largely because end-to-end encryption is not enabled by default.