Swazi Secrets

Eswatini’s king professed to have a bold plan for a thriving economic zone. ICIJ uncovered two phantom gold refineries channeling millions of dollars to Dubai through it.

Staff say they can’t authorize any transactions. Clients can’t open accounts. But the newcomer remains in suspended animation at the center of a political tussle.

Swazi Secrets exposes the role the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, may have played in the regional illicit economy.