Latest news with #OCCRP
ABC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Russia-backed fund Pravfond that bankrolled 'Aussie Cossack' sanctioned by Australia over anti-Ukraine propaganda
A Russian-backed organisation that has bankrolled the legal defence of alleged spies and criminals has been sanctioned by the federal government just weeks after an investigation detailed its support for Australia's most prominent pro-Putin propagandist. The joint investigation between the ABC and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed the organisation, Pravfond, had paid the legal bills of Simeon Boikov, also known as "Aussie Cossack", and successfully lobbied for him to be granted Russian citizenship. The sanctioning of Pravfond means Australian individuals and entities will no longer be able to make assets available to or for the benefit of Pravfond, and any assets held on behalf of or controlled by Pravfond must be frozen. Australian financial authorities must also closely scrutinise its transactions. Formally known as "Foundation to Support and Defend the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad", Pravfond was founded in 2012 with the stated goal of defending the rights of expat Russians, primarily by offering assistance if they get into legal trouble. Previous reporting has indicated that it has helped pay for the legal defence of notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and hit man Vadim Krasikov, who murdered a Chechen militant in Berlin in 2019. Several top Pravfond figures, including its deputy director, Vladimir Pozdorovkin, have been identified as former Russian intelligence officers. The joint investigation drew on a cache of 50,000 internal emails to reveal Pravfond's support for Boikov, who had been hiding from authorities in the Russian consulate in Sydney since December 2022 after he assaulted a pro-Ukraine protester. The emails detail how Boikov's Sydney-based wife applied for at least three rounds of legal aid from Pravfond and the organisation helped him at least once, paying thousands of dollars in legal fees to his Sydney solicitors. They also showed Pravfond successfully pushed for Boikov's Russian citizenship — publicly confirmed in a 2023 decree from President Vladimir Putin. Asked why, given Pravfond's alleged intelligence ties and prior support of the likes of Viktor Bout and Vadim Krasikov, he thought it was appropriate to apply for funding, Boikov said he was unaware of these facts. "I didn't know about this fund … but even if I knew, even if I knew [them], I had no problems, because I think they're all heroes. They're my compatriots. "I think Viktor Bout's a great guy … he's fantastic. He's a patriot. I'm a patriot." From inside the consulate, Boikov regularly broadcasts pro-Russian propaganda, including support for Russia's war in Ukraine, via the Telegram app, where he has tens of thousands of subscribers. Last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announced Pravfond had been added to its list of sanctioned individuals and entities. A spokesperson for the department told the ABC that Pravfond "has been identified as supporting individuals and entities attempting to influence public opinion abroad, including in relation to Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine". "Australia has now imposed more than 1,500 sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to maintain pressure on Russia for its malign actions. "Australia has been clear that those enabling Russia's illegal invasion will face consequences." A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Australia referred the ABC to comments by the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, after the investigation into Pravfond was published in May. Based on the cache of internal emails, the OCCRP published stories about Pravfond with 28 media partners, including the ABC. Ms Zakharova said at the time that the reports were "fake stories" and that Pravfond was "a purely human rights structure" that had gotten "in the hair of hateful Russophobes". "This organisation, that really helps Russians protect their legal rights abroad, is currently the target of a deluge of slander and outright disinformation," she said. A Pravfond spokesperson said it "categorically reject[ed] the allegations and designations imposed by the Australian authorities". "The Foundation's mission is solely humanitarian — to protect the rights of Russian compatriots abroad in accordance with international law," it said in a statement. The spokesperson said support for Boikov was provided "at the request of his family and exclusively on a humanitarian basis", and the fund "has no organisational or financial ties to any state or intelligence agencies". No system is 100 per cent secure, but ProtonMail can be used to protect your identity by using end-to-end encryption. Please read the terms and conditions to work out the best method of communication for you.
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Influencer Not Disqualified From Vanuatu 'Golden Passport' Due To No Conviction
Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist A Pacific editor for the newsroom that found online influencer Andrew Tate has Vanuatu citizenship says Tate was not disqualified from getting the "golden passport" because he has not been convicted. Tate, a self-described misogynist, faces charges of rape and human trafficking in both the United Kingdom and Romania. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found Tate was granted citizenship in December 2022. Dan McGarry, an editor with OCCRP, said the passport was issued about 15 days after Tate was detained in Romania. Tate bought into the "golden passport" scheme, formally known as citizenship by investment, where applicants can be granted Vanuatu citizenship for a minimum investment of $US130,000. McGarry said the citizenship commissioner - who has been newly appointed in the role - was surprised to find out who Tate was. "He expressed regret, but at the same time, he said that once a submission has been made, once the application is put to the commission, nothing short of a criminal conviction or false representation on the application itself is sufficient to stop the process," McGarry said. He said despite the charges, because Tate has not been convicted, "none of that is disqualifying". "I think if it comes out that there's a conviction that arises, it's possible that his citizenship may be revoked as a result." McGarry said there are several reasons why people want a Vanuatu passport, including not for nefarious reasons. "There is a fairly legitimate argument to be made for citizens of repressive regimes whose travel is restricted by their local authorities." But for Tate, Vanuatu citizenship could have seemed appealing because there's no extradition treaty between Vanuatu and Romania. "[Tate's] on the record saying that he has multiple passports and that he prefers to live in places where he can effectively buy his way out of any problem that he's facing. "However, he's now facing criminal charges in the UK as well. That was just confirmed last week and there is a very long-standing extradition agreement between the UK and Vanuatu, so I'm not sure the passport is going to do what he thought it would do originally." Citizenship by investment started in 1984 in the Caribbean, with Vanuatu launching its own scheme in 2017. "It structured it in such a way that it was very easy for people outside of Vanuatu to insert themselves into the process by acting as sub agents, effectively selling citizenship and that made it very lucrative," McGarry said. Until 2024, Vanuatu citizens had visa-free access to the Schengen area in the EU. "It made the Vanuatu passport very, very attractive, and the price was somewhat better than some of the earlier programs," McGarry said. He said citizenship by investment programmes at one point were the single largest source of government revenue in Vanuatu. "You can imagine how attractive that made it to politicians who had always been very financially limited in terms of delivering programmes for people domestically. "It's been very, very hard for the government to walk away from it, because there's just so much money to be made." The Vanuatu Citizenship Commission chairman, Charles Maniel, has told the Vanuatu Daily Post it can't carry out any revocation until allegations are proven by a court of law.
RNZ News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Influencer not disqualified from Vanuatu 'golden passport' due to no conviction
Andrew Tate on the "Anything Goes With James English" Podcast in 2021. Photo: Anything Goes With James English, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons A Pacific editor for the newsroom that found online influencer Andrew Tate has Vanuatu citizenship says Tate was not disqualified from getting the "golden passport" because he has not been convicted. Tate, a self-described misogynist, faces charges of rape and human trafficking in both the United Kingdom and Romania. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found Tate was granted citizenship in December 2022. Dan McGarry, an editor with OCCRP, said the passport was issued about 15 days after Tate was detained in Romania. Tate bought into the "golden passport" scheme, formally known as citizenship by investment, where applicants can be granted Vanuatu citizenship for a minimum investment of $US130,000. McGarry said the citizenship commissioner - who has been newly appointed in the role - was surprised to find out who Tate was. "He expressed regret, but at the same time, he said that once a submission has been made, once the application is put to the commission, nothing short of a criminal conviction or false representation on the application itself is sufficient to stop the process," McGarry said. He said despite the charges, because Tate has not been convicted, "none of that is disqualifying". "I think if it comes out that there's a conviction that arises, it's possible that his citizenship may be revoked as a result." Vanuatu passport Photo: Andrew Gray McGarry said there are several reasons why people want a Vanuatu passport, including not for nefarious reasons. "There is a fairly legitimate argument to be made for citizens of repressive regimes whose travel is restricted by their local authorities." But for Tate, Vanuatu citizenship could have seemed appealing because there's no extradition treaty between Vanuatu and Romania. "[Tate's] on the record saying that he has multiple passports and that he prefers to live in places where he can effectively buy his way out of any problem that he's facing. "However, he's now facing criminal charges in the UK as well. That was just confirmed last week and there is a very long-standing extradition agreement between the UK and Vanuatu, so I'm not sure the passport is going to do what he thought it would do originally." Citizenship by investment started in 1984 in the Caribbean, with Vanuatu launching its own scheme in 2017. "It structured it in such a way that it was very easy for people outside of Vanuatu to insert themselves into the process by acting as sub agents, effectively selling citizenship and that made it very lucrative," McGarry said. Until 2024, Vanuatu citizens had visa-free access to the Schengen area in the EU. "It made the Vanuatu passport very, very attractive, and the price was somewhat better than some of the earlier programs," McGarry said. He said citizenship by investment programmes at one point were the single largest source of government revenue in Vanuatu. "You can imagine how attractive that made it to politicians who had always been very financially limited in terms of delivering programmes for people domestically. "It's been very, very hard for the government to walk away from it, because there's just so much money to be made." The Vanuatu Citizenship Commission chairman, Charles Maniel, has told the Vanuatu Daily Post it can't carry out any revocation until allegations are proven by a court of law .
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vanuatu says it has no plans to revoke Andrew Tate's golden passport after review
Vanuatu has decided not to revoke Andrew Tate's citizenship after reviewing his application, a government spokesperson is reported to have said. The government initially responded to a report that Tate secured a 'golden passport' in December 2022 – the same month he was arrested in Romania for human trafficking and rape charges – by saying it was considering rescinding it. But Vanuatu government spokesperson Kiery Manassah told The Guardian on Thursday that the country's citizenship office had found no fault with Tate's application and would not rescind his passport. 'They've found the files and according to the records, at the time when Mr Tate was granted the citizenship, he was cleared by Interpol, and the UK, so that was the decision at the time,' he said. He told the outlet: 'The chairman [of the citizenship office] confirms that the way it is at the moment he [Tate] remains a citizen and for Vanuatu there are no further actions to be taken.' Mr Manassah admitted that, had they known about the allegations at the time, Tate wouldn't have been granted citizenship. 'If the government had been aware of this at the start, and our processes were working, we should have not allowed him in the first place,' he said. 'We can't just go back and revoke based on information that is discovered later.' Earlier, an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) had found that the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer secured a Vanuatu passport through a fast-track investment scheme requiring a minimum outlay of $130,000 (£96,000). Vanuatu doesn't have an extradition treaty with Romania. The controversial programme has fuelled security concerns and prompted the European Union to revoke Vanuatu's visa-free access in late 2024. After the report was published by OCCRP, Mr Manassah had told ABC News that they would look into Tate's citizenship application. 'Once we have the files, definitely, the processes will be in place to revoke his citizenship,' he said earlier. 'The government does not want to encourage people of questionable backgrounds to be granted citizenship,' he added. 'Those who are wanted by their countries or who are investigated by police authorities from overseas are not welcome to be part of the citizens of Vanuatu,' he told the outlet. The Tate brothers, who were raised in Luton in the UK, have been under criminal investigation in Romania since April 2022. If convicted, Tate's citizenship could still be revoked in the future, Mr Manassah said. 'If he has been convicted then definitely measures to revoke his citizenship, that can be determined later. That would be something the government could consider in future.' He told The Guardian: 'New regulations have been signed off by the prime minister and the current chairman under [citizenship commissioner] Charles Maniel, is trying to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again and that we our improve our due diligence processes.' Aubrey Belford, OCCRP's Pacific editor, said the team was investigating Vanuatu's golden passport scheme when they stumbled upon the name Emory Andrew Tate — and then set out to confirm it was the same individual as the controversial online influencer. 'The [golden passport] system has been abused by oligarchs, organised criminals, intelligence agents, and it's caused a lot of alarm because it's one of these loopholes that allows people to get a new passport or even a new identity and be able to evade law enforcement,' he told ABC News. Former UK home secretary Suella Braverman said in 2023 that close consideration of Vanuatu's golden passports had revealed 'clear and evident abuse of the scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals known to pose a risk to the UK'. Last month, UK prosecutors filed charges against Tate and his brother Tristan Tate for rape, actual bodily harm, and human trafficking, linked to alleged incidents between 2012 and 2015. Tate also faces an additional charge of controlling prostitution for financial gain. Both brothers, who hold dual US and UK citizenship, deny all allegations from both Romanian and British authorities. Jotham Napat, who took office as Vanuatu's prime minister earlier this year, has pledged to overhaul the country's controversial economic citizenship programme — a key source of government revenue. The pledge followed revelations that Vanuatu had granted a golden passport to fugitive former Indian cricket chief Lalit Modi, who moved to renounce his Indian citizenship after acquiring Vanuatu nationality.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Vanuatu says it has no plans to revoke Andrew Tate's golden passport after review
Vanuatu has decided not to revoke Andrew Tate's citizenship after reviewing his application, a government spokesperson is reported to have said. The government initially responded to a report that Tate secured a 'golden passport' in December 2022 – the same month he was arrested in Romania for human trafficking and rape charges – by saying it was considering rescinding it. But Vanuatu government spokesperson Kiery Manassah told The Guardian on Thursday that the country's citizenship office had found no fault with Tate's application and would not rescind his passport. 'They've found the files and according to the records, at the time when Mr Tate was granted the citizenship, he was cleared by Interpol, and the UK, so that was the decision at the time,' he said. He told the outlet: 'The chairman [of the citizenship office] confirms that the way it is at the moment he [Tate] remains a citizen and for Vanuatu there are no further actions to be taken.' Mr Manassah admitted that, had they known about the allegations at the time, Tate wouldn't have been granted citizenship. 'If the government had been aware of this at the start, and our processes were working, we should have not allowed him in the first place,' he said. 'We can't just go back and revoke based on information that is discovered later.' Earlier, an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) had found that the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer secured a Vanuatu passport through a fast-track investment scheme requiring a minimum outlay of $130,000 (£96,000). Vanuatu doesn't have an extradition treaty with Romania. The controversial programme has fuelled security concerns and prompted the European Union to revoke Vanuatu's visa-free access in late 2024. After the report was published by OCCRP, Mr Manassah had told ABC News that they would look into Tate's citizenship application. 'Once we have the files, definitely, the processes will be in place to revoke his citizenship,' he said earlier. 'The government does not want to encourage people of questionable backgrounds to be granted citizenship,' he added. 'Those who are wanted by their countries or who are investigated by police authorities from overseas are not welcome to be part of the citizens of Vanuatu,' he told the outlet. The Tate brothers, who were raised in Luton in the UK, have been under criminal investigation in Romania since April 2022. If convicted, Tate's citizenship could still be revoked in the future, Mr Manassah said. 'If he has been convicted then definitely measures to revoke his citizenship, that can be determined later. That would be something the government could consider in future.' He told The Guardian: 'New regulations have been signed off by the prime minister and the current chairman under [citizenship commissioner] Charles Maniel, is trying to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again and that we our improve our due diligence processes.' Aubrey Belford, OCCRP's Pacific editor, said the team was investigating Vanuatu's golden passport scheme when they stumbled upon the name Emory Andrew Tate — and then set out to confirm it was the same individual as the controversial online influencer. 'The [golden passport] system has been abused by oligarchs, organised criminals, intelligence agents, and it's caused a lot of alarm because it's one of these loopholes that allows people to get a new passport or even a new identity and be able to evade law enforcement,' he told ABC News. Former UK home secretary Suella Braverman said in 2023 that close consideration of Vanuatu's golden passports had revealed 'clear and evident abuse of the scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals known to pose a risk to the UK'. Last month, UK prosecutors filed charges against Tate and his brother Tristan Tate for rape, actual bodily harm, and human trafficking, linked to alleged incidents between 2012 and 2015. Tate also faces an additional charge of controlling prostitution for financial gain. Both brothers, who hold dual US and UK citizenship, deny all allegations from both Romanian and British authorities. Jotham Napat, who took office as Vanuatu's prime minister earlier this year, has pledged to overhaul the country's controversial economic citizenship programme — a key source of government revenue. The pledge followed revelations that Vanuatu had granted a golden passport to fugitive former Indian cricket chief Lalit Modi, who moved to renounce his Indian citizenship after acquiring Vanuatu nationality.
