Rza Talibov sold off assets in 2023 during a crackdown on his father’s oppressive administration in Nakhchivan, an autonomous region of Azerbaijan. Now, he’s re-taken control of a luxury hotel, along with another property on Georgia's Black Sea coast. www.occrp.org/en/news/excl...

🚨 An Israeli man dubbed “The Tinder Swindler” in a 2022 Netflix documentary has been detained in Georgia at Interpol’s request, after Germany accused him of conning a woman out of nearly €44,000. His lawyer told @occrp.org he denies the allegation.

Juansher Burchuladze is alleged to have directed an embezzlement scheme, and used stolen funds to buy property in Spain. Through his lawyer, he denied the allegations. www.occrp.org/en/news/geor...

A veteran journalist thought she survived the siege of Sarajevo unscathed — but in recent weeks, horrific stories emerging from the war in Gaza reignited her long-buried trauma. www.occrp.org/en/feature/t...

Seven years ago today, OCCRP, Berlingske, and international partners exposed the Azerbaijani Laundromat — a $2.9bn money-laundering operation and slush fund run by Azerbaijan's elite. From bank shutdowns to arrests and jail time, here's what's happened since:

According to @rsf.org data, 220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in less than 23 months. Today, OCCRP is joining an international media blackout campaign, organized by RSF and @avaaz.org, calling for the protection of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

Prosecutors in Georgia launched a criminal probe into seven NGOs, freezing their bank accounts over alleged “sabotage” tied to anti-government protests. www.occrp.org/en/news/ngo-...

Scam Empire is a finalist for the @journalists.org’s #OJA in the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism category. Our cross-border investigation with ‪SVT + 30 partners exposed a global scam network that stole millions from victims. More about the project www.occrp.org/en/project/s...

Foreign embassies and media advocates condemned Mzia Amaghlobeli’s sentencing, after a Georgian court jailed the veteran journalist. www.occrp.org/en/news/outc...

Senior imam Kazem Sedighi had faced mounting pressure to step down since his relatives were arrested in early June, in the wake of a 2024 media report alleging that the cleric and his family were involved in a corrupt land transfer deal. www.occrp.org/en/news/top-...

A British solicitor was sanctioned for breaching anti-money laundering rules related to funds from the children of Azerbaijan's former security minister, including a transfer earmarked for the purchase of U.K. property now held via an offshore structure. www.occrp.org/en/news/uk-l...

A German court has convicted a former Bundestag lawmaker of bribing officials on behalf of Azerbaijan, sentencing him to a suspended prison term in a major ruling tied to the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scandal. www.occrp.org/en/news/germ...

🔒⚖️ Yesterday, Georgian authorities froze the bank accounts of news organization @netgazeti.org over a tax debt. The outlet says it is being pressured as its founder Mzia Amaghlobeli stands trial on charges that she calls retaliation for her work. More details via @occrp.org👇

🚨 BREAKING: Azerbaijan jails journalists from Abzas Media and RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service in trial condemned as a ‘sham’ 🗣️ @amnesty.org's Marie Struthers: “Azerbaijan's judicial system is being weaponized to muzzle independent journalism.” More details via @occrp.org👇

The Azerbaijani government’s relentless crackdown on journalists has eradicated any semblance of independent media from the country. Here’s how smuggling charges, harsh prison conditions, and pro-government attack dogs are strangling press freedom 👇 www.occrp.org/en/feature/t...

“𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.” Several Georgian independent media and civil society groups have vowed to defy a new foreign agents law, warning it will be used to silence dissent. Some are taking the fight to court. More details via @occrp.org👇

A former German lawmaker has said that an indictment against him in the #AzerbaijaniLaundromat trial is correct — but later told journalists that he was innocent as he didn’t consider payments from Azerbaijan’s government to be bribes. www.occrp.org/en/news/form...

The #BakuConnection project by @forbidden-stories.bsky.social , OCCRP, Abzas Media and 13 partners has received the Special Award at this year’s European Press Prize. It continued the work of jailed Abzas reporters, exposing abuses by the Aliyev regime. www.europeanpressprize.com/article/the-...

EXCLUSIVE: A tanker ship just sanctioned by the U.K. for shipping oil on Russia’s behalf is owned by the Azerbaijani government, corporate docs show. @zakavkaza of @FPRI said the move is a “clear warning shot” for the Aliyev government. www.occrp.org/en/news/excl...

NEW: Despite a criminal probe in Georgia, call center from our #ScamEmpire investigation appears to be back. According to newly obtained records, the scammers have continued making calls using a VoIP service that allows them to disguise their country of origin. www.occrp.org/en/project/s...

🇬🇧 The UK has sanctioned two influential Georgian judges for allegedly “abusing their position” to favour Georgia's ruling party. One of them has denied the allegations, calling the decision politically motivated. More details via @occrp.org👇

🇬🇪 Georgia’s ruling party is pushing a bill modelled on the U.S. FARA, sparking fears it will be used to suppress civil society and media in an increasingly authoritarian crackdown. 🔎 More details via @occrp.org 👇

Georgia Freezes NGO Bank Accounts, Accuses Them of “Sabotage” Linked to Mass Protests occrp.org/en/news/geor... via @occrp.org

Azerbaijan Escalates Crackdown on Civil Society, Arrests NGO Figures, Targets Exiled Activists occrp.org/en/news/azer... via @occrp.org

#ScamEmpire: Georgia Freezes Assets of Top Scammers in Massive Call Center Fraud www.occrp.org/en/news/geor... via @occrp.org

Georgian Court Adds 9 Years to Ex-President’s Sentence occrp.org/en/news/geor... via @occrp.org

#ScamEmpire: Georgia Launches Criminal Probe Into Scam Call Center Exposed by Journalists

#ScamEmpire: Exposed Tbilisi Call Center Scammers Delete Social Media Accounts

Amid Protests, Georgia Plans to Purchase Israeli Data Extraction Tech

As Secretary General of the OSCE, Roberto Montella observed last year’s election in Georgia and took part in a meeting on the wording of the OSCE’s post-election report. But earlier, he attended a football match in Tbilisi organized by a top ruling party official www.occrp.org/en/scoop/osc...

NEW: After being sanctioned by the US last year, Georgia’s richest man and honorary chair of its ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, moved his assets home. Experts say the effect is to “transfer the risk from himself and his own wealth to the country of Georgia.” www.occrp.org/en/scoop/sla...

Fourteen European embassies in Georgia have called for the immediate release of detained journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been on hunger strike for 20 days.

Two former German lawmakers are on trial for allegedly accepting bribes from Azerbaijan to promote its interests at the Council of Europe. Axel Fischer and Eduard Lintner were implicated in the Azerbaijani Laundromat scheme uncovered by OCCRP in 2017. www.occrp.org/en/news/form...

Two former German MPs are on trial today in Munich, accused of accepting bribes from Azerbaijan. They both deny the allegations.

Ahead of COP29, Azerbaijan Cultivated Allies in the U.K.’s House of Lords Who Praised its Leadership | @occrp.org

New investigation with @jdowsea.bsky.social into peers taking free trips to Azerbaijan, giving support to Aliyev's government, raising concerns from human rights groups www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Georgia’s Security Service Alleges Foreign Plot Amid Anti-Government Protests occrp.org/en/news/geor... via OCCRP

Azerbaijan Detains Journalists in Escalating Media Crackdown occrp.org/en/news/azer... via OCCRP

Great reporting by @jdowsea.bsky.social - Bob Stewart failed to register significant payments when an MP from a defence firm, and worked with a company at the heart of the UK's first McMafia order. Is a parliamentary ban now he's no longer an MP an adequate sanction? www.occrp.org/en/news/form...

Former British MP Faces Parliamentary Ban After Failing to Properly Register Work for Controversial Company occrp.org/en/news/form... via OCCRP

Crypto ‘Laundromat’ Tied to Russian Financial Sector and Cocaine Trade - Police occrp.org/en/news/cryp... via OCCRP

Georgia Court Orders Extradition of Azerbaijani Journalist, Drawing Condemnation occrp.org/en/news/geor... via OCCRP

Georgian Mayor’s Family Is Behind Secretive Hotel Project in Picturesque Mountain Town www.occrp.org/en/scoop/geo... via OCCRP

Zimbabwe's delegation to COP29 in Azerbaijan is raising some eyebrows. OCCRP's report with partners Belarusian Investigative Center and NewsHawks.

Well worth a read... OCCRP and Studio Monitori's investigation into a well-connected investor whose companies have landed state contracts to develop hydropower plants in Georgia.