NEW: Rifaat Al-Assad was accused of the slaughter of tens of thousands of people, but for decades he lived in impunity in the heart of Europe. How did he get away it? My latest longread for @tbij.bsky.social & @prospectmagazine.co.uk: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

In a landmark decision handed down yesterday, the High Court threw out an "oppressive" £8m libel claim against Dan Neidle in the first test of the UK's anti-SLAPP protections. While a total victory for Neidle, campaigners warn it's not enough: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Fines for UK financial crime nosedive to ‘pitiful’ lows. Penalties from the FCA drop by 78% in five years. Regulator now has a duty to promote growth of the sector. It is a race to the bottom. Financial crime not investigated. Bankers bonuses will increase from illicit financial flows. To

NEW: Fines imposed by the UK's financial regulator have plummeted by 78% in five years. The FCA, a bulwark in the country's fight against financial crime, secured £124m in fines last year, down from £567.8m in 2021. @premnsikka.bsky.social www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

NEW: Independent corruption investigations by the police watchdog have fallen by 70% in five years. The IOPC, which handles the most serious police complaints, has seen its budget slashed by a third since 2018, despite unprecedented public outcry. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

This rodeo never ends: www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...

NEW: In 2022, the BVI was plunged into a political scandal that nearly saw the islands forced into direct rule. I spent many, many months trying to work out why and how this happened. Out today, via the Guardian Long Read & Pulitzer Center: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

“This will not be business as usual, but rather business unusual, business unconventional,” said the BVI premier at the start of his tenure. But no one knew quite how unusual it would turn out to be. Today's Guardian long read by @edsiddons.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

NEW: In 2022, the BVI was plunged into a political scandal that nearly saw the islands forced into direct rule. I spent many, many months trying to work out why and how this happened. Out today, via the Guardian Long Read & Pulitzer Center: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

What gets measured gets done. Why we need to end Whitehall secrecy on offshore secrecy...

NEW: HMRC has figures on how much tax it suspects is lost offshore – but it won't disclose them. Story here led by @simonlock.bsky.social featuring @taxwatch.bsky.social www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

NEW: Libel lawyers Carter-Ruck sought to – in their own words – "silence" a police fraud investigator on behalf of OneCoin, a $4bn crypto scam. The latest on Carter-Ruck's reckoning by me and @simonlock.bsky.social for @tbij.bsky.social www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

NEW: Explosive documents revealed in an ongoing case against Carter-Ruck partner Claire Gill have pulled back the curtain on London’s reputation management industry. There’s more to come, but for now, have a read: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

And how many thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent defending this, I wonder? www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...

NEW: HMRC has charged its first company under a landmark new offence brought in eight years ago. We previously reported on the lack of any charges back in January of last year – and now, HMRC claims its first prosecution. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

NEW: The legal regulator has announced that it is prosecuting a senior lawyer at libel firm Carter-Ruck for an “improper” threat to sue. The complaint to the regulator was filed after our @tbij.bsky.social & @economist.com longread on the firm. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

NEW: Queen Elizabeth’s private solicitor spent eight years helping to manage the offshore wealth of an alleged war criminal, Rifaat Al-Assad, the "butcher of Hama" and uncle of Bashar. Via @tbij.bsky.social & @theguardian.com www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Latest investigation from my esteemed colleague @edsiddons.bsky.social - give it a read...

🚨 Queen Elizabeth’s private solicitor spent eight years helping to manage the offshore wealth of the “butcher of Hama” – an uncle of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad who has repeatedly been accused of war crimes

NEW: Queen Elizabeth’s private solicitor spent eight years helping to manage the offshore wealth of an alleged war criminal, Rifaat Al-Assad, the "butcher of Hama" and uncle of Bashar. Via @tbij.bsky.social & @theguardian.com www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

NEW: Prosecutions of people who enable tax evasion have plummeted in recent years – worse still, HMRC gave Parliament inaccurate figures when questioned on this two years ago, sparking anger in the Lords. Via @tbij.bsky.social & in tomorrow's Observer: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Discreet Law "took steps to verify the information provided by its client and carried out independent research." The solution here is for libel courts to adopt the same standard of proof as the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

New from @conplnk.bsky.social, myself, and @beaudonelly.bsky.social on Bellingcat’s Financial Investigations Team in collaboration with @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social / @thetimes.com

“You guys really need to shut this down LOL.” Stellar story from Bloomberg on America’s "most convenient bank for money launderers." www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

Whip-smart explainer from @simonlock.bsky.social & @tbij.bsky.social on (one part of) Roman Abramovich's tax dodge – leasing his own yachts back to himself. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

More than 40 MPs and peers have written to HMRC to say that Roman Abramovich's tax affairs must be investigated in the light of an investigation by the Guardian, @tbij.bsky.social and BBC, which found that the former Chelsea FC owner's companies may owe the UK taxman £1bn. [1/3]

NEW: Abramovich's multi-billion dollar hedge fund operation may have unlawfully dodged hundreds of millions in tax. Extraordinary investigation from @simonlock.bsky.social and @eleanorrose87.bsky.social + BBC, Guardian, OCCRP, Paper Trail, & others. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

According the SRA, it's actually very normal and fine to sue an investigative journalist on behalf of a sanctioned warlord because the warlord took umbrage with tweets that tied him the mercenary group he founded. Scoop by @petergeoghegan.bsky.social democracyforsale.substack.com/p/uk-law-fir...

NEW: Superb investigation by @simonlock.bsky.social & @eleanorrose87.bsky.social & Guardian & BBC into Abramovich's tax dodging by leasing his own superyachts back to himself. This was a monumental amount of work and it deserves your time: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Spotlight do stellar work all the time but this is particularly impressive. “Open justice” is a principle our courts rarely live up to — particularly on disclosure of documents, even when they’re referred to in open court — and these tussles make reporters’ jobs possible. Hats off.

NEW: Rifaat Al-Assad, "the butcher of Hama" & uncle of Bashar, used a Guernsey wealth advisor to help manage his billion-dollar empire amassed through massive looting of Syrian public funds, per court docs www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

BREAKING: TBIJ and the Guardian are unmasking a Briton who helped manage hundreds of millions of pounds allegedly looted from the Syrian people The Briton worked on behalf of Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Bashar and a man known as the “butcher of Hama”

🚨 BREAKING: @tbij.bsky.social and @theguardian.com are unmasking a Briton who helped manage hundreds of millions of pounds allegedly looted from the Syrian people The Briton worked on behalf of Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Bashar and a man known as the “butcher of Hama”

NEW: Rifaat Al-Assad, "the butcher of Hama" & uncle of Bashar, used a Guernsey wealth advisor to help manage his billion-dollar empire amassed through massive looting of Syrian public funds, per court docs www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

By me and Laura Pitel: a German company has taken a $15mn settlement with OFAC after being caught shipping a WHOLE PETROCHEMICAL PLANT from Australia to Iran. on.ft.com/4eVKBtX

🆕 Transparency International UK analysis published by @financialtimes.com has found almost 500 U.K. properties worth £6bn bought using suspicious funds channelled through the British Overseas Territories. £5.5 billion of this is held by companies in the BVI. ⤵️ www.ft.com/content/7fcd...

👓 WHAT WE'RE READING – 5 key stories from the anti-corruption world 1️⃣ @tbij.bsky.social: Great roundup from the TBIJ team of last week's House of Commons debate on SLAPPs, featuring a clip of @joepowell.bsky.social's powerful speech.

Another banger from @hettieobrien.bsky.social: “The government knew it couldn’t have a political argument about winding back environmental law, because the public likes environmental law. So instead, they set out to kill environmental law by stealth.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Slapps used to silence whistleblowers should be outlawed, says group of MPs

Finally able to share the project I've worked on this past year with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. It started as a wild idea I pitched during my interview for my current job, and ended today with a debate on SLAPPs in the House of Commons: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...

NEW: “Mohamed Al-Fayed’s sexual abuse could have been stopped were it not for legal threats against journalists who investigated allegations against him, an MP has told the Commons today.” Dispatch on today’s SLAPPs debate coordinated by TBIJ: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...

For a year, we’ve gathered stories of people — often ordinary people with few resources — silenced by legal claims. Their stories matter, but the public were denied any knowledge of them. Today, some of those stories were brought to light by MPs across the House. Proud to have been a part of this: