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The IRS has slashed the number of staff overseeing anti-money laundering practices at crypto exchanges to the lowest level in nearly a decade, according to new data obtained by ICIJ. Plus, four years into the Ukraine war, a new report shows Hong Kong is now a backdoor supplier of European tech to Russia’s war machine.
Drug syndicates have used .50-caliber ammunition from a plant owned by the U.S. Army in attacks on Mexican civilians and police, a new ICIJ investigation reveals. Also, ICIJ’s partners uncover how Chinese firms took control of a strategic rare-earth mineral operation in Malawi, a former Nigerian oil minister stands trial on bribery charges in the U.K., and more.
Austrian crypto exchange Bitpanda has promoted itself as “secure, regulated and real.” But new reporting by ICIJ media partners raises questions about its handling of cybersecurity risks. Plus, Russia stripped ICIJ member Roman Anin of his citizenship, Portuguese authorities are investigating a movie producer with ties to an alleged crypto scammer, and more.
Despite complaints about customers and employees getting scammed, retail chain Circle K extended its contract with Bitcoin Depot to host crypto ATMs in its convenience stores. Also, analysis firm Chainalysis says a Binance report claiming illicit activity plummeted on the exchange failed to factor in funds stolen through hacks and ransomware; an inside look at the data work behind Damascus Dossier; and more.
Journalists in 20 countries have joined forces to uncover harrowing new details about one of the most brutal state-run killing systems of the 21st century: the regime of former Syrian president Bashar Assad. The investigation draws on a cache of classified Syrian intelligence records obtained by German broadcaster NDR and shared with ICIJ.
How the cryptocurrency exchange Kyrrex exploited technology and shell companies while serving suspected fraudsters and pro-Russian military activists, even as its owners claimed the exchange followed anti-money laundering rules. Plus, an inside look at ICIJ’s data methodology for The Coin Laundry investigation, and more.
A new investigation by ICIJ and 37 media partners exposes how the crypto boom minted a shadow economy that thrives on crime. Over 10 months, reporters investigated tens of thousands of transactions involving hundreds of millions of dollars linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and cyber thieves flowing to the crypto industry’s biggest trading platforms.
Popular ammunition made at an Army-owned facility was far more likely than any other to turn up in a government database, new data on AR-15-related gun crimes shows. Also, Peruvian investigative outlets are countering a new law that could curtail funding for NGOs and cripple the press, and keep an eye out for a new investigation from ICIJ coming soon.
Russia is using sensitive high-tech equipment it secretly acquired from European, U.S. and Asian companies to protect its nuclear submarine fleet in the Arctic, according to Russian Secrets, a new cross-border investigation from ICIJ’s partners that exposes how the Kremlin’s procurement program remained hidden for years. Also, a recent U.N. report documents rising transnational repression inside the organization, researchers at Dartmouth used ICIJ’s data to study the ultrawealthy, and more.
Despite publicly criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza, Arab military officials came together for meetings and trainings with Israel officials facilitated by U.S. Central Command on regional threats, Iran and underground tunnels. Also, Germany convicted a naturalized citizen who monitored Chinese activists of espionage, ICIJ journalists swept Columbia Journalism School’s prestigious Cabot prize, and more.
A new report reveals how solitary confinement in U.S. immigration detention has spiked under the first few months of the second Trump administration, six years after ICIJ’s Solitary Voices project exposed the misuse and overuse of the practice. Also, journalists in Peru plead for more protection from the justice system, sanctioned crypto exchange Garantax continues to thrive in the shadows, and Syria detains a prominent activist.
On the fifth anniversary of ICIJ’s FinCEN Files, journalists and advocates look back at the investigation and its impact — part of which may be undermined by new U.S. Treasury rules that roll back key transparency reforms. Also, Chelsea F.C. faces charges for payments under Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, and a new TV show highlights ICIJ’s reporting.
The vast majority of more than 7,000 probationary workers fired from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service this year on performance grounds weren't underachievers, according to a new internal watchdog report. Plus, Canada will appoint its first foreign interference commissioner as it seeks to fight transnational repression.
Despite U.S. sanctions, Intellexa's notorious smartphone spyware Predator is “still active” in more than a dozen countries, including many with poor human rights records, researchers warn. Plus, a group of U.S. senators hopes to stem dirty money flows through the art market by bolstering oversight of art brokers.
A St. Petersburg strip bar. A borrowed pied-à-terre for sexual tristes. Mob pals. A new book by two of Russia's top investigative journalists infiltrates President Vladimir Putin’s private life and inner circle. Plus, the latest impact from ICIJ's investigations.
An ICIJ reporter tried to capture the "opulence and neglect" inside a tiny African state that had squandered its oil riches — and experienced the dangers of reporting in a country with no free press. Plus, U.S. transparency advocates warn a spate of crypto bills leaves the door open to dirty money.
When the International Finance Corp. first began its investment push in East Africa, it predicted that the money flowing into private hospitals would make health care cheaper and more accessible — especially for the poor. Instead, it left a trail of crushing debts, hospital detentions and broken promises.
Despite condemning transnational repression, world leaders have been slow to deal with China’s attacks on dissidents abroad, including some allegedly coerced into spying for the Chinese government, ICIJ’s China Targets found. Plus, how data bolstered the investigation, and more.
Less than a year after it was abandoned off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the Med Sea Eagle delivered military equipment to a Libyan strongman, leaked documents reveal. Plus, Cypriot tax authorities say it’s “not possible” to recover the debt from an alleged tax-dodging scheme involving billionaire Roman Abramovich's luxury superyachts.
Douglas Edelman rose from owning a bar in Kyrgyzstan to winning $7 billion in defense contracts, only to plead guilty to hiding his fortune from U.S. tax authorities. Plus, leaked Chinese government records reveal Beijing targeted Uyghur reporter Shohret Hoshur as part of a yearslong push to silence Radio Free Asia, and more.
Leaked documents reveal the Obiang regime awarded a Portuguese construction giant with ties to the vice president $1 billion in contracts as it splurged on a Paris-inspired capital, an empty airport and other long-forgotten infrastructure projects. Plus, Danish lawmakers call for a probe into Beijing’s repression campaign against dissidents living in Denmark.
ICIJ’s latest investigation, China Targets, reveals how Beijing enlisted billionaire Jack Ma and abused Interpol’s red notices to pursue a target abroad — and turned the U.N. in Geneva into a hostile environment for critics of President Xi Jinping. Plus, ICIJ found dozens of examples of law enforcement detaining protestors to shield the president from dissent during his overseas travels.
A new investigation from ICIJ and 42 media partners uncovers the sprawling scope and terrifying tactics of Beijing’s campaign to target regime critics beyond its borders. The 10-month investigation also reveals how the United Nations has become a staging ground for China’s transnational repression under Xi Jinping’s rule.
