The Cypriot press ethics committee slammed on Monday the president’s former law firm for threatening to sue media that published a report claiming the firm facilitated transactions to companies suspected of money laundering.

A high-profile trial against businessmen, a former minister, and two dozen accomplices shines a spotlight on illicit cigarette production, widespread smuggling, and the government’s struggle to hold its officials accountable.

(Credit: Edin Pasovic)

Hundreds of women filled the streets of Mexico City on Friday night to demand greater safety for women and justice for two teenage girls who were allegedly raped by policemen. 

One of the vice presidents to Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe turned around and sped away when anti-corruption investigators tried to approach him, reported the South African media outlet News24 on Monday.

The Cypriot government responded on Saturday to an OCCRP investigation from Aug. 14. Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou described the report as “libel” and said “it did not correspond to reality.” The story reported that a law firm established and co-owned at the time by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades facilitated transactions with companies that are part of the Troika Laundromat, a secretive financial vehicle that has been used to carry out financial crimes.

Credit: Edint Pasovic

Libel is defined as inaccurate information that defames a person. But the report cannot constitute libel, as it relates only facts backed by documented evidence. We stand by our reporting.

The OCCRP story in question reports that:

(a) the law firm established by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the 1970s, of which he was a co-owner until February 2013, and of which his two daughters are now shareholders 

(b) facilitated transactions carried out by Batherm Ventures Limited and Matias Co. Limited, with Delco Networks S.A. and Gotland Industrial Inc., companies that were major players in the Troika Laundromat,

(c) which, in turn, is known to be a Russian-controlled financial vehicle that has been used to carry out financial crimes, including money laundering, tax evasion, bribes, and concealment of assets, many for senior leaders of politics and business in Russia.

(d) Mr. Anastasiades was a partner in the firm at the time these transactions took place.

(e) All the above are facts documented in the story and past OCCRP reports.

As a professional news organization, OCCRP takes accuracy extremely seriously. As with all our investigations, this story went through a rigorous fact-checking process. If any facts reported in the story are found to be in error, OCCRP will make the necessary correction. No one has denied any of these facts, and all are supported with documents OCCRP obtained. 

Both Mr. Anastasiades and the law firm, including every single one of its shareholders, were offered an opportunity to comment on the findings of the investigation several weeks ahead of publication. None of them opted to do so. 

An Israeli minister and member of the ruling Likud party resigned on Friday after the country’s chief prosecutor announced he will charge him with fraud and corruption, accusing him of benefiting from government contracts granted to a businessman.

Argentine authorities have released a businessman with dual citizenship who was briefly detained on charges of tax evasion, despite Mexico’s appeal for extradition, the BBC reported Sunday.

Thailand’s anti-graft authority accused one of its own top officials of concealing his wealth by omitting to declare all of his assets in his mandatory declaration, theBangkok Post reported on Friday.

Sudanese former military dictator Omar al-Bashir appeared on Monday in front of judges accompanied by 95 lawyers who will be defending him from corruption charges, Al Jazeerareports. 

Corruption eats up US$13.35 billion, or 20% of the Philippines' budget every year, the country’s Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramossaid on Thursday.

Despite being one of the least corrupt countries in Africa, Ghana is annually losing billions to graft - a menace that keeps people poor and shatters their dreams, officials said last week.

The incoming mayor of the northern Albanian city Shkodra was forced to resign on Thursday after an opposition party exposed his past conviction on drug-related charges, Balkan Insight reported.

 Brazilian authorities have arrested more than 115 suspected members of various criminal gangs, as well as government officials allegedly linked to organized crime and corruption, policeannounced Thursday. 

Life in the fast lane ended abruptly earlier this week for 15 men from Brooklyn and Queens who stand accused of stealing and selling dozens of motorcycles across New York City.

Prime Minister Trudeau violated the law when he tried to persuade Canada’s attorney general to go soft on a company charged with corruption, the ethics commissioner concluded in an “explosive” 63-page report on the SNC-Lavalin affair released Wednesday. 

A Mexican cartel leader who worked under Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling cocaine in the Western District of New York, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

The trafficking of animals, illegal logging and mining and the dumping of hazardous materials diverts hundreds of billions of dollars every year to the financial accounts of organized crime groups, a new study published on Monday by Michigan State University found.

Almazbek Atambayev made a calculated bid for long-lasting power in Kyrgyzstan two years ago but now instead stands charged, the BBC reported Tuesday, with murder, planning a coup, fomenting unrest, and taking hostages.

The UK National Crime Agency froze on Wednesday eight bank accounts with more than £100 million (US$ 121,004,893) it suspects were obtained through corruption and bribery in an overseas nation.

In the biggest bust for the state of Queensland–and the third largest in Australia–police seized 766 kilograms of pure MDMA powder on Tuesday and charged six people in connection with the case, including two UK citizens.