Jul 14, 2025
Cyprus greenlights sanctions unit following ICIJ investigation into financial services sector
The new unit could help the Mediterranean island shake its reputation as a “weak link” in the European Union’s financial system.
Sanctions
Jun 10, 2025
After outpacing a European naval mission, cargo ship remains stranded in Libya
Less than a year after it was abandoned off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the Med Sea Eagle delivered military equipment to a Libyan strongman, leaked documents reveal.
Jun 10, 2025
Cyprus unable to claw back $15M in unpaid taxes from oligarch’s superyacht charter company
Tax officials said it was “not possible” to recover the debt from an alleged tax-dodging scheme involving billionaire Roman Abramovich's luxury superyachts because the company was shuttered a year ago.
May 22, 2025
Cyprus misses EU deadline as long-awaited sanctions unit stalls
A package of reforms meant to help the country clamp down on sanctions evasion has repeatedly faltered amid pushback from the legal industry.
Mar 26, 2025
Seychelles offshore services provider highlighted in the Pandora Papers shuts down operations
The country’s Financial Services Authority has revoked the licenses of Alpha Consulting after a Finance Uncovered investigation into the provider’s business of creating anonymous U.K. shell companies.
Mar 13, 2025
Russia’s ghost ships haunt Libya
The Kremlin is using vessels from its “ghost fleet” — hundreds of aging commercial ships with obscured ownership — to send military equipment to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, leaked documents reveal.
Mar 04, 2025
EU sanctions Russian crypto exchange Garantex
The sanctions comes after an ICIJ investigation linked Garantex to actors in the Russian government and criminal organizations.
Feb 06, 2025
Former George W. Bush aide says an Uzbek businessman hired him to lobby for US sanctions on a local business rival
The episode, which led to a U.S. Congressman calling for an investigation of possible sanctions violations by the Uzbek target firm, offers a window into the business of regional actors seeking to influence the booming use of Western sanctions.
Dec 10, 2024
Chinese arms flow into the US and other countries despite manufacturers’ alleged role in Xinjiang repression
Five years since ICIJ’s China Cables investigation, Uyghurs in exile and advocates say the ethnic minority group’s conditions haven’t improved.
Nov 25, 2024
UK sanctions Angola’s Isabel dos Santos and associates for ‘stealing country’s wealth for personal gain’
The British government’s decision follows a series of criminal charges and asset freezes brought by multiple governments against the daughter of Angola’s former president following ICIJ’s 2020 Luanda Leaks investigation.
Nov 22, 2024
Putin’s pipeline: How the Kremlin outmaneuvered Western oil companies to wrest control of vast flows of Kazakhstan’s crude
Chevron and partners prioritized profits, enabling runaway costs and ballooning budgets worth billions as Russia deployed strong-arm tactics and steered contracts to cronies.
Nov 22, 2024
WATCH: Everything you need to know about Caspian Cabals
An overview of ICIJ's latest global investigation.
Nov 22, 2024
Frequently asked questions about the Caspian Cabals investigation
What is the Caspian pipeline? How does Russia profit from the pipeline? These questions and more, answered.
Nov 13, 2024
Critics question the depth of Cyprus’ much-touted reforms to its secretive financial industry
The Cyprus Confidential investigation last year exposed how the island nation’s financial sector aided some of Russia’s wealthiest figures ahead of looming sanctions related to the Ukraine war.
Sep 18, 2024
Notorious ‘Predator’ spyware firm Intellexa hit with new US sanctions
As the United States clamped down on the Intellexa group for the second time this year, advocates criticized Europe’s lack of action against commercial spyware creators.
Aug 20, 2024
US lags on financial transparency compared to other developed nations, researchers say
A new global study mapping illicit financial flows reveals Dubai and Hong Kong are now dirty money hotspots, while the U.S. is becoming a go-to destination for banking bribes.
Aug 01, 2024
Associate of oligarch Petr Aven forfeits $1M at heart of UK sanctions evasion case
ICIJ’s Cyprus Confidential revealed that as sanctions loomed amid Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a Cyprus financial services firm transferred millions from an account it managed for the Russian billionaire.
Mar 13, 2024
Firm related to sanctioned crypto exchange Garantex is a partner of Moscow gang leader and has links to Kremlin-controlled Rosneft
A new probe reveals how a murky network linked to the Moscow-based crypto exchange appeared after the mysterious 2020 death of a founding shareholder.
Mar 11, 2024
Crypto firm moved $4.2m of assets to digital wallet linked to alleged Russian arms dealer
A new analysis of transactions shows a link between Copper Technologies and Jonatan Zimenkov, who was later hit with U.S. sanctions over Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Mar 06, 2024
Spyware firm Intellexa hit with US sanctions after Cyprus Confidential exposé
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the cyber-surveillance group and two of its key leaders, Tal Dilian and Sara Hamou, for proliferating spyware use around the world.
Mar 05, 2024
EU efforts to slow the influx of illegal Russian timber marred by poor enforcement
ICIJ partners in Europe report that, a year after Deforestation Inc., regulators are struggling to uphold sanctions on Russia’s massive forestry industry.
Jan 22, 2024
Sudanese businessman accused of managing Hamas’ investment portfolio sanctioned by EU
Abdelbasit Hamza, whose European business ties were exposed in ICIJ’s Cyprus Confidential investigation, has been targeted by European authorities and has reportedly been arrested in Cairo.
Jan 05, 2024
US offers $10 million reward for information on five accused Hamas financiers
The State Department highlighted the reward after reporting by ICIJ on Hamas financing in the wake of the group’s deadly October incursion into Israel, which Israel says killed 1,200 people.
Dec 20, 2023
Alleged Hamas financier holds stake in Cyprus company that mines Egyptian gold, leaked files reveal
Sudanese businessman Abdelbasit Hamza — whose company holdings feature in Cyprus Confidential documents — has been accused of being “a central figure in Hamas' investment portfolio.”
Dec 08, 2023
Lithuania seeks new powers to strip citizenship after Roman Abramovich’s children exposed as Lithuanian passport holders
An ICIJ partner found two of the oligarch's children were Lithuanian citizens at the time of offshore moves that may have safeguarded billions in assets from sanctions.