Author: gracechurchfcp

Dutch Banks Bring in new fees for money laundering checks

Compliance
Companies, foundations and churches are being asked to pay additional banking fees to cover the cost of money laundering investigations, broadcaster NOS noted on Tuesday. ABN Amro, ING and SNS have already introduced the new fees and Rabobank will follow on next week, NOS said. Banks say the monthly charge is needed to pay for the extra checks they have to make for money laundering and funding terrorism. ‘The cost for banks have risen considerably in recent years,’ Helène Erftemeijer from the Dutch banking association said. ‘Some 13,000 people are involved in this sort of research and the increasing costs…

France’s Safran to pay $17.2 million to settle China Bribery in US probe

Bribery, Corruption
(Reuters) – French jet engine maker Safran SA will pay about $17.2 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over bribes its subsidiaries allegedly paid in China, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement made public on Friday. The Paris-based aerospace supplier will be required to turn over profits from “corruptly obtained” and retained contracts by its U.S.-based subsidiary, Monogram Systems, the DoJ said. Monogram and Safran’s German unit, Evac GmbH, allegedly paid bribes to obtain “lucrative” train lavatory contracts with the Chinese government. Safran did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a…

UK Anti Money Laundering and Countering the financing of Terrorism – Supervision Report 2020-22

Regulation
This report provides information about the performance of AML/CTF supervisors between 6 April 2020 – 5 April 2022 and fulfils the Treasury’s obligation, under Section 51 of the MLRs, to publish an annual report on supervisory activity. The report includes supervisory and enforcement data on both the Statutory and Professional Body Supervisors, highlighting any notable changes in supervisory activity and any fines that supervisors have issued. This report provides supervisory and enforcement data for both the 2020-2021 period (6th April 2020 – 5th April 2021) and the 2021-2022 period (6th April 2021 – 5th April 2022). The two years have…

FTX diverted $200 million of customer money for two venture deals that caught the SEC’s attention

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Of the billions of dollars in customer deposits that disappeared from FTX in a flash, $200 million was used to fund investments in two companies, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged founder Sam Bankman-Fried with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors.” Through its FTX Ventures unit, the crypto firm in March invested $100 million in Dave, a fintech company that had gone public two months earlier through a special purpose acquisition company. At the time, the companies said they would “work together to expand the digital assets ecosystem.” The other deal the SEC appears to have…

Biggest Bribery Fines of 2022

Bribery, Corruption, Prosecutions, Regulatory Fines
Key bribery fines & settlements in 2022 Glencore – $1bn settlementFirstEnergy – $180m settlementTenaris – $78m settlementStericycle – $84m settlementK.T. Corporation – $6.3m settlementKPMG – £3.4m fineBoulting Group – £500k fineTritec and Electron – £70k fine each Whilst companies face multi-million settlement penalties, the consequences for individuals can include jail time. Biggest bribery fines in 2022 in detail The SFO’s investigation revealed that Glencore paid over $28m (£22.2m) in bribes through its employees and agents in exchange for preferential access to oil, including larger cargoes, more valuable oil grades, and preferred delivery dates. The firm gave the go-ahead for these…

£4.5bn Lost in 3 COVID Schemes as “Eat Out to Help Out” Scheme Recorded 9.5% Rate of Fraud

Fraud, Uncategorized
The revelation emerges during a hearing of the Treasury Committee, which hears the HMRC seized a non-fungible token cryptocurrency asset and is “ahead of the game” compared to “most other tax authorities” on the potential use of cryptocurrencies for tax evasion, according to CEO Jim Harra. The total value of fraud in three COVID-19 schemes totalled £4.5bn, of which the taxpayer is only going to get £1.1bn back, the head of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has told MPs. Speaking at the Treasury Committee on Wednesday, HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the £4.5bn was lost to fraud in the…

UNODC Launch Manual to Tackle Underreported Crime of Organ Trade

Financial Crime, Trafficking
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched a new toolkit on how to effectively investigate and prosecute the trafficking of people for the purpose of organ removal – a form of trafficking that has been persistently left in the dark, yet is detected in many countries around the world. Driven largely by the global shortage of organs available for transplant, it is estimated that ethical transplants cover less than 10% of the global need. This disparity has resulted in sick patients seeking out organs from the black market, a process facilitated by criminal groups who engage…

OFAC Sanctions Internet-based Suppliers of Illicit Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs

Digital Currencies, Drug Trafficking, Sanctions
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three individuals and nine entities associated with darknet marketplaces and research chemicals sites under the Illicit Drugs Executive Order (EO 14059) for supplying illicit synthetic substances to U.S. markets through internet sales and a host of shell companies. Today’s action marks the first time this EO has been used to designate activities related to online and darknet market illicit drug sales. Two individuals, Alex Adrianus Martinus Peijnenburg (Peijnenburg) and Martinus Pterus Henri De Koning (De Koning) began their business selling illicit fentanyl, synthetic stimulants, cannabinoids, and…

Cross-Border Cybercrime Raid Nabs Scam Call Centers Exposed By OCCRP

Fraud, Prosecutions
European authorities this month launched a coordinated action against hundreds of suspects accused of running a massive investment fraud network that was exposed by OCCRP in a 2020 investigation, Eurojust and Europol announced. Police and prosecutors from Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, North Macedonia, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine worked together on an “unprecedented” cross-border investigation that culminated in the arrests of five suspects and confiscation of hundreds of thousands of euros’ worth of cash, as well as cryptocurrency wallets, properties, and bank accounts, according to Eurojust. The joint team, which Eurojust, the EU agency for judicial cooperation, coordinated and…

Hochul Signs Partial Cryptocurrency Mining Nan into New York Law

Digital Currencies, Regulation
New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the most aggressive climate and clean energy law in the nation, while also continuing our steadfast efforts to support economic development and job creation in upstate New York.” The new law will also trigger a study by state Department of Environmental Conservation to study the impacts of the cryptocurrency mining industry on the environment. The measure was hotly debated in the halls of the state Capitol this year, with environmental groups pushing lawmakers and Hochul to support the bill and the industry urging Hochul to reject it. “Thank you, Governor Hochul,…

EU Court of Justice Rolls Back Anti-Money Laundering Rules

Money Laundering, Regulation
In a stunning reversal, the Court of Justice of the European Union weakened an existing anti-money laundering rule on Tuesday, limiting use of one of the most potent tools against financial secrecy – access to beneficial ownership information. “Beneficial ownership” is the term for who, in reality, benefits from (or owns) a given company or corporate structure. Wealthy individuals, criminals and tax cheats are among those who routinely disguise ownership of such entities, often to hide their wealth from authorities. Organizations fighting for tax equity and reform immediately denounced the ruling. “By requiring corporations and offshore entities to publicly disclose…

NCA secures £50m identified by Barclays as the Proceeds of Crime

Money Laundering, Proceeds of Crime
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has obtained a ruling from the High Court that allows Barclays to hand over criminal funds to the NCA in a first-of-its-kind civil recovery case. The money – amounting to over £50m – was identified by the bank in a number of accounts and transferred to secure holding accounts. The civil recovery order means that for the first time, legal powers were used to recover the proceeds of crime where the account holders were not named in the court action. Adrian Searle, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) in the NCA said: “Identifying…

JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank sued by Epstein accusers in New York

Regulatory Risk
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG were accused of enabling the sexual abuse of Jeffrey Epstein in New York class action suits that allege the banks turned a blind eye in order to “churn profits.” The lawsuits, filed separately in a New York court, allege the banks had “knowingly benefited and received things of value for assisting, supporting, facilitating, and otherwise providing the most critical service for the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking organization.” JPMorgan was accused in the suit of “financially benefiting from participating” in the alleged sex trafficking through providing financial support from 1998 to…

Belgium has seized more cocaine than it can destroy

Drug Trafficking
The amount of cocaine being seized at the Belgian port of Antwerp is so massive that authorities are worried smugglers could steal it back because police can’t burn it fast enough. Officials said there is not enough incinerator capacity to cope with rising seizures of the drug at the port, creating what has been dubbed a “cocaine-berg”. As a result, Belgian port authorities and ministers are worried the backlog of cocaine being stored at secret depots near the port could be targeted by organised crime gangs, who are known to have corrupt police and port workers on their books. Antwerp…

Trace Releases 2022 Bribery Risk Matrix

Bribery, Corruption
ANNAPOLIS, MD, U.S.—15 November 2022—TRACE, a non-profit international business association dedicated to anti-bribery, compliance and good governance, has released the 2022 Bribery Risk Matrix, which measures business bribery risk in 194 jurisdictions. According to this year’s data, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Syria and Venezuela present the highest commercial bribery risk, while Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark present the lowest. Other notable findings: The United States ranked 16th and scored 19 out of 100. The enforcement environment hasn’t improved since a slump during the Trump administration, and the free press environment continues to decline.Ukraine ranked 103rd and scored…

Crypto Regulatory Affairs – Global Regulatory Response to FTX Collapse

Digital Currencies
The collapse of FTX – once one of the most dominant cryptoasset exchanges worldwide – has sparked concern from investors, consumers, industry participants and regulators alike. Previously, there were discussions – and a signed letter of intent – indicating that fellow crypto exchange Binance would be acquiring FTX. Shortly after, news broke that it would be walking away from the deal completely due to the severity of FTX’s internal mismanagement. A spokesperson from Binance told media outlets: “As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations,…

New Crackdown on Fraud and Money Laundering to Protect U.K. Economy

Financial Crime, Fraud, Regulation
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will strengthen the UK’s reputation as a place where legitimate businesses can thrive while driving dirty money out of the UK. Through the reforms, anyone who registers a company in the UK will need to verify their identity, tackling the use of companies as a front for crime or foreign kleptocrats. The reforms to Companies House – its biggest upgrade in 170 years – will also see the organisation armed with new powers to check, challenge and decline incorrect or fraudulent information, making it a more active gatekeeper over company creation. The investigation…

U.K. No Longer an Active Enforcer of Foreign Bribery as Global Enforcement Hits Historic Low

Bribery, Corruption
Britain has lost its place among the top enforcers of foreign bribery laws in new research published today by Transparency International. Exporting Corruption 2022, which ranks the world’s biggest exporters on how well they investigate and sanction companies for paying bribes abroad, sees the UK relegated from the ‘active’ enforcers group to join Germany, France, and others deemed to be only ‘moderate’ enforcers. Foreign bribery wreaks havoc in countries around the world, illicitly channelling public money into private profits and buying undue influence over government decision-making for major multinationals. This is the first time the UK has fallen out of…

E.U. to Discuss Crypto Legislation With U.S. Officials

Digital Currencies, Regulation
EU representatives will reportedly broach the need for a more coordinated global crypto regulatory framework with US officials at next week’s IMF-World Bank annual meetings. The bloc’s Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness revealed there was a “crowded agenda” for the US next week. Speaking at a media roundtable hosted by Bloomberg, Commissioner McGuinness added: “One of the items that won’t be bottom of the list, it will be in there right around the top is crypto.” “I am sure they want to hear what we’ve done, how it went, what the problems were. I would be very happy to…

FCA Fines Gatehouse Bank £1.5m for Poor Anti Money Laundering Checks

Money Laundering, Regulatory Fines
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Gatehouse Bank Plc £1,584,100 for significant weakness in its financial crime systems and controls. Between June 2014 and July 2017 Gatehouse failed to conduct sufficient checks on its customers based in countries with a higher risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. Gatehouse also failed to undertake the correct checks when some of the customers were classed as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). In one instance, Gatehouse Bank set up an account for a company based in Kuwait to aggregate customer funds. Gatehouse Bank did not require the company to collect information about customers’…

European Countries Top of Basel AML Index

Counter Terrorist Financing, FATF, Money Laundering
EUROPEAN countries and New Zealand comprise the Top 10 countries in the Basel Institute AML Index. On the other end of the scale, the bottom 10 are dominated by African countries along with Haiti, Myanmar and Cambodia. Finland – whose FATF assessment was also released today – comes out on top of the ratings with Congo ranked bottom stacking up a rating of 8.3 out of 10 for its money laundering risk. Under the Basel AML Index, countries are assessed under 18 indicators including the quality of their AML/CFT Framework, their Corruption and Bribery Risk, Financial Transparency and Standards, Public…

Money Laundering Cases Registered at Agency Doubled in Last 6 Years

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering
Almost 3 000 cross-border money laundering cases have been registered at Eurojust during the past six years. Since 2016, the number of cases brought to the Agency has been steadily rising. Over 600 cases were brought to the Agency in 2021, representing more than double of those registered in 2016.These are some of the findings of Eurojust’s first comprehensive report on money laundering, published on 20 October. Due to its clandestine nature, the global scale of money laundering is difficult to measure, but it is considered to be significant. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that…

E.U. adds Bahamas and Turks & Caicos to its Tax Haven Blacklist

Tax Evasion
The Council of the European Union has added the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands to its list of “non-cooperative” tax jurisdictions. In its latest publication, the Council of the European Union has also placed Anguilla back on the list, just one year after it was removed. The body says it “underlines the importance of promoting and strengthening tax good governance mechanisms, fair taxation, global tax transparency and fight against tax fraud, evasion and avoidance, both at the EU level and globally.” The Council also says it welcomes the progress of relevant jurisdictions through the “active steps” taken by the…

Danske Bank Estimates Money Laundering Fines at €2.08b

Money Laundering, Prosecutions, Regulatory Fines
Danske Bank predicts in its third-quarter report that the United States and Danish governments could fine the bank €2.08 billion for money laundering in Estonia. Danske Bank estimates in its third-quarter review that the solution agreed upon with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Danish National Special Crime Unit (NSK) is expected to cost €2.08 billion. The bank previously estimated the potential fine at €200 million. However, Danske Bank said that negotiations with the authorities are still ongoing and it remains uncertain whether a deal could be reached soon. The bank anticipates…

HMRC cracks down on unlawful estate agents

Money Laundering
Dozens of estate agents have been fined more than £500,000 for breaching anti-money laundering requirements, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced today (11 October 2022). HMRC named the 68 estate agents that have been fined a total of £519,645 for not complying with rules designed to stop criminals laundering money from illegal activity. The fines followed the first prosecution of an estate agent for trading despite not registering with HMRC, to ensure compliance with money laundering regulations. Felix Uwuigbe, Director of Century House Estates Ltd in London, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid community service and banned from…

The veneer of legitimacy: professional money launderers and how they impact the legal sector

Money Laundering
When we talk about crime, and the harm it causes to communities and individuals, money laundering is rarely more than an afterthought. It shouldn’t be; money laundering is key to organised crime. Without the ability to wash dirty money, criminals would struggle to further their operations and hide their assets. Money laundering underpins and enables organised crime. What are professional money launderers?Professional money launderers – or PMLs – are people who, for a fee, provide services to organised crime groups (OCGs) by laundering the proceeds of their crimes. PMLs launder for multiple OCGs and don’t concern themselves with how the…

Airbus confirms bribery settlement talks over Kazakhstan, Libya

Bribery, Regulatory Fines
Airbus confirmed on Friday it is negotiating a new bribery settlement with French authorities over past dealings in Libya and Kazakhstan on top of record fines agreed in 2020. The disclosure in accounting notes published on Friday came after prosecutors said earlier this week they were in talks with Airbus to settle unspecified matters similar to the earlier case, involving widespread bribes paid over several years. In notes with quarterly results, Airbus repeated it was co-operating fully with French authorities on investigations related to Kazakhstan and Libya. In Friday’s update, it added these two probes had evolved into talks over…

UK High Court Shuts Down PGI Global for Involvement in a Crypto Fraud

Digital Currencies, Fraud
The United Kingdom’s crackdown on cryptocurrency is still on fire as the government is continuously taking down any illicit acts associated with virtual assets. Recently, the United Kingdom High Court ordered PGI Global UK to shut down, following their non-compliance with the guidelines and links with possible involvement in a crypto fraud with their investors. According to the UK government’s Insolvency Services press release, authorities have appointed their Official Receiver as the company liquidator. PGI Global received around 612,425 Pound Sterling (over 700K USD) in their bank accounts from their would-be investors. Over 10,000 USD were used for making a…

The UK has a new name for stablecoins

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The proposal is another ripple of recognition for the Bitcoin, crypto and digital assets industries in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom moved forward on the Financial Services and Markets Bill on Oct. 25, hardening its vision for Bitcoin cryptocurrency and “digital settlement assets” in the country. The suggested bill proposes “a range of measures to maintain and enhance the U.K.’s position as a global leader in financial services, ensuring the sector continues to deliver for individuals and businesses across the country.” The bill reasserts the U.K.’s intention to become a global cryptocurrency hub, comments echoed by Lisa Cameron, member…

Middle East & North Africa Trade based financial crime guide

Money Laundering, Trade Based Finance
Today the MENA Chapter of the GCFFC and MENA FCCG launched their jointly developed bilingual Reference Guide for practitioners to assist in improving awareness of trade-based financial crime risks. The guide was simultaneously published as an open source on the GCFFC and MENA FCCG websites and introduced to the market at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 14th MENA Regulatory Summit 2022 in Abu Dhabi, organized by LSEG under the patronage of the UAE Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Finance. TBFC is persistently flagged as one of the most poorly understood risk areas within the anti-money laundering…

FCA takes action as Crypto scams

Digital Currencies, Fraud
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened 432 regulatory cases regarding possible crypto scams or unregistered businesses, according to the regulator’s fourth Consumer Investments Data Review published this week. The document aggregates data from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Take Advantage of the Biggest Financial Event in London. This year we have expanded to new verticals in Online Trading, Fintech, Digital Assets, Blockchain, and Payments.The FCA saw an increase in enquires about cryptocurrency scams (59%) during the reported period. Although many consumers contacted the financial watchdog before they were scammed or their funds were stolen, 79%…

Financial and cybercrimes are the top global policing concerns

Financial Crime, INTERPOL, Policing
Financial and cybercrimes are the world’s leading crime threats and also those projected to increase most in the future, according to a majority of the police respondents globally. The findings, part of INTERPOL’s first-ever Global Crime Trend report, saw more than 60 per cent of respondents rank crimes such as money laundering, ransomware, phishing and online scams as high or very high threats. Moreover, more than 70 per cent of respondents expect crimes such as ransomware and phishing attacks to increase or significantly increase in the next three to five years. The report, which is restricted to law enforcement, brings…

German Prosecutors search Deutsche Bank HQ in tax probe

Tax Evasion
German prosecutors have searched the headquarters of Deutsche Bank in connection with an ongoing investigation of the multibillion-euro tax fraud scheme known as “cum-ex”, Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday. Germany’s largest lender is one of many banks that prosecutors have raided in connection with the tax scheme that thrived more than a decade ago. The public prosecutor’s office in Cologne, without naming Deutsche Bank, confirmed it had conducted a raid on a bank and an auditing company in Frankfurt that involved more than 100 investigators, and extended to the homes of 10 suspects. Deutsche Bank, under Chief Executive Christian Sewing,…

Wined and Fined: OFSI Imposes Financial Penalty on UK Company for Publicising Sanctioned Crimean Winery

Regulatory Fines, Sanctions
The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) announced on 27 September that it imposed a £30,000 penalty on UK company Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition Ltd (HK Wine & Spirits) for breaching UK financial sanctions regulations.[1] This is the second monetary penalty OFSI imposed this year, following a £15,000 fine against Tracerco Limited in June. HK Wine & Spirits received three payments and 78 wine bottles from Massandra, a Crimean winery, for entry into its 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 competitions. Massandra is a designated entity subject to EU Regulation 269/2014 (the “Regulation”), which was introduced in…

AML efforts of European banks hampered by deficient on-boarding

KYC, Money Laundering
The anti-money laundering efforts of European banks is being hamstrung by failures to manage key customer data and perform proper due diligence, regulators say Banks’ failure to collect know-your-customer (KYC) data and their tendency to manage high-risk customer due diligence manually are hampering their anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, according to regulators in the United Kingdom. Further, many banks’ assessment of financial crime risk has also been found to be inadequate. Some UK banks, are failing to collect customer information such as income and occupation details. In some cases, customer risk assessment frameworks are underdeveloped or non-existent, which translates into poor…

Deutsche Bank in $26.3 million shareholder settlement over Epstein, Russian oligarch ties

Money Laundering, PEPs
Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $26.25 million to settle a U.S. shareholder lawsuit accusing the German bank of lax oversight while doing business with risky, ultra-rich clients like Jeffrey Epstein and Russian oligarchs. The preliminary all-cash settlement filed on Friday in federal court in Manhattan requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who in June allowed the proposed class action to proceed. Shareholders led by Yun Wang, who traded Deutsche Bank stock in 2018 and 2020, claimed that the bank had known its know-your-customer and anti-money laundering controls were ineffective, and that its share price fell as problems…

More questions than answers? The EU’s new anti-money laundering authority

Money Laundering, Regulation
The EU is set to establish a new Anti-Money Laundering Authority next year. Sebastian Diessner writes that while the new authority is a step in the right direction, there remain more questions than answers over how it will function and where it will be based. Until recently, the question of who is in charge of cracking down on money laundering in Europe should arguably have been answered with: ‘the US’. After all, it has been the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that has acted as the sheriff in terms of discovering and penalising major scandals among European…

London council could seize oligarchs’ homes for affordable housing

Asset Seizure, Sanctions
Homes acquired with “dirty money” in the richest parts of London could be seized and turned into affordable housing under plans to crack down on oligarchs using Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair “to rinse their money”. Labour-controlled Westminster city council is examining the use of compulsory purchase orders in extreme cases where it finds properties are not being used for their stated purpose, as part of a push to “combat the capital’s reputation as the European centre for money laundering”. The plan faces obstacles including a lack of transparency over property ownership and a shortage of checks on the registration of…

Russia to Legalise use of Cryptocurrency in International Trade

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The Bank of Russia and the country’s Ministry of Finance have reconsidered their positions toward cryptocurrency, acknowledging it to be necessary to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements, per a report by local news outlet TASS. According to TASS, the two government bodies have agreed that “it is impossible” to continue without enabling cryptocurrency as a legal payment method for international trade. The move comes as Russia dabbles on how to best regulate the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets. Swamped in Western sanctions, the world’s largest country has sought alternatives to the U.S. dollar so as to guarantee the…

Auditors Expose 9,800 Ghost Workers in Zambian Government Ministries

Corruption, Fraud
The audit of government payroll by Zambia’s Office of the Auditor General published this week reveals a series of grave misuse of public money including that in 2017-2021, ministries paid more than US$45 million in regular salaries to 9,800 apparently non-existent individuals. “As of July 31, the institutions had not accounted for the officers in that they were not known,” said the audit. “They are names included on a payroll who for one reason or another do not exist,” Laura Miti, Executive Director of Alliance for Community Action, Zambia’s public accountability NGO, told OCCRP. “It could be that they have…