Farmers Bank was supposed to rival other banks operating in Eswatini and launch over 200 ATMs in its first 12 to 18 months. But it’s essentially a bank in name only.

#SwaziSecrets reveals the role allies of the king played in supporting its establishment. buff.ly/4cV50zA

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#SwaziSecrets leaked files showed Eswatini’s Central Bank and Financial Intelligence Unit feared that a special economic zone set up to supercharge Eswatini’s economy may have instead turned the tiny kingdom into a hub for money laundering.

Read the story:buff.ly/4aBVqQA

ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle spoke with ABC Australia about the ongoing #PanamaPapers trial.

Eight years after the investigation, 27 people are facing money laundering charges, including the founders of the law firm at the center of the scandal.

Listen here:buff.ly/3UllD0c

The U.S. and Chinese governments' new agreement allows each country's treasury departments to work together to fight against money laundering, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Officials plan to discuss their nation's approach to close financial system loopholes.

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📰 ICIJ & partners have published #SwaziSecrets , an investigation into Eswatini’s unexplored role as a possible conduit in southern Africa’s gold smuggling economy. bit.ly/3xC9hb7

Wish to learn more? Here are FAQs about the investigation. bit.ly/3JjGhHD

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From The Washington Post: A classified document from Russia’s Foreign Ministry indicates plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the U.S., and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance.

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U.K. authorities froze a multimillion-dollar London townhouse linked to Igor Komarov roughly one week after ICIJ revealed the property appeared untouched by sanctions against the high-ranking Kremlin official.

Read the story:

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Europe’s timber traceability system depends on truck drivers uploading photos of their wood truckload, but it can't detect fake images, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported.

Reporters found photos of drinking parties, chairs, and truck tires were submitted and went undetected.buff.ly/3UoUAQz

How international gold dealers exploited a tiny African kingdom’s economic dream:

Eswatini’s king professed to have a bold plan for a thriving economic zone. ICIJ uncovered two phantom gold refineries channeling millions of dollars to Dubai through it
icij.org/investigations…

W/ a range of discrepancies in its banking license application, Farmers Bank was rejected by Eswatini's financial regulator—but after political pressure, its application was approved

ICIJ explores the ties btwn govt officials & the 'suspicious' bank: bit.ly/4aPJFG2

Among the 27 people charged in the #PanamaPapers trial are Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora, the founders of the now-shuttered local law firm at the center of the scandal.

Both have repeatedly denied any involvement in illegal activities.

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South Africa's public broadcaster Channel Africa invited me on to discuss the #SwaziSecrets , ICIJ's latest investigation.

We spent months analysing a leak of 890,000 official documents from Eswatini (ex-Swaziland), Africa's last absolute monarchy

omny.fm/shows/business…