White Collars, Dirty Hands: A podcast by OCCRP and La No Ficción

John Grobler’s Namibian holiday led him on an unexpected journey tailing trucks and loggers to expose the interests behind illegal logging, a lucrative and illegal business making millions for Chinese companies and local elites.

In this episode Nick Wallis traces OCCRP’s investigation into who is killing the last of Namibia’s protected rosewood trees. We also hear from OCCRP journalist Khadija Sharife on how the tragic destruction of these prized forests fits into the wider looting of Africa’s natural resources.

Finally, sustainability expert Dr. Clemens von Doderer analyzes the causes of Namibia’s illegal logging and what needs to be done to put an end to deforestation.

Dirty Deeds is a Little Gem production for OCCRP. The host is Nick Wallis. The producer is Lindsay Riley at Rethink Audio, with research from Phoebe Adler-Ryan and Riham Moussa.

Read the investigations:

• Felling Namibia’s Ancient Giants
• ‘They Are Finishing the Trees’: Chinese Companies and Namibian Elites Make Millions Illegally Logging the Last Rosewoods

This week’s guests

• John Grobler - @JohnGrblr
• Khadija Sharife - @khadijasharife
• Dr. Clemens von Doderer

Transcript

• Read the transcript on the OCCRP website here

More information on OCCRP

• Keep up with the latest in global organized crime and corruption at OCCRP and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
• Follow on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get the latest updates.
• Support investigative journalism in the public interest. Donate to OCCRP.

[00:00] Introduction

[02:33] Khadija explains why she commissioned an investigation into Namibian rosewood

[05:18] John gives a crash course on Namibia

[06:20] Why Chinese demand for rosewood trees is increasing

[08:03] Why and how John began investigating rosewood logging

[13:38] An explainer on CITES and why it’s important for threatened species

[16:13] How Namibia’s political and legal system fuels illegal logging

[18:55] What it’s like to take on a government as a lone journalist

[20:25] Can the redwoods be saved?

[24:33] Dr Clemens von Doderer explains the causes of illegal logging in Namibia

[27:26] How can illegal logging be stopped?

This podcast was originally produced in Spanish. Following recent events in Venezuela, we are sharing it with a wider audience through this human-reviewed AI translation. This is an experiment, so minor imperfections may be present. Original Spanish podcast below:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5inyH4WRo1H82KgvmnmUHh
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuello-blanco-manos-sucias/id1872501127

We welcome your feedback on this experiment at occrp.org/podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you begin to investigate the explosion that tore through the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, killing more than 200 people? 

In this episode Nick Wallis takes us back to August 2020, talking to Rana Sabbagh and Aubrey Belford about how OCCRP reporters activated the global network to unravel the opaque web of secrecy behind the cause of the explosion, scouring the globe from Russia to Mozambique to track down the true owner of the deadly cargo that triggered the devastating blast in Lebanon’s capital.

We also hear from Paul Najjar, who lived and worked less than a kilometer from the blast site at Beirut port. Paul and Tracy’s three-year-old daughter died as a result of injuries sustained in the explosion.

Dirty Deeds a Little Gem production for the OCCRP. The host is Nick Wallis. The producer is Lindsay Riley at Rethink Audio, with research from Phoebe Adler-Ryan and Riham Moussa.

Read the investigations:

• A Hidden Tycoon, African Explosives, and a Loan from a Notorious Bank: Questionable Connections Surround Beirut Explosion Shipment
• Ownership of Chemicals that Exploded at Beirut Port Traces Back to Ukraine

This week’s guests:

• Rana Sabbagh - @rana_sabbagh
• Aubrey Belford - @AubreyBelford
• Paul Naggear

Transcript

• Read the transcript on the OCCRP website here.

More information on OCCRP

• Keep up with the latest in global organized crime and corruption at OCCRP and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
• Follow on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get the latest updates.
• Support investigative journalism in the public interest. Donate to OCCRP.

[00:00] Introduction

[01:21] Paul Naggear recounts the day of the explosion

[10:53] Rana Sabbagh explains background and how the investigation began

[16:57] Aubrey Belford explains why he volunteered to join the investigation

[20:28] Rana describes the difficulties of reporting in the blast’s aftermath

[24:03] Background on Lebanese politics

[25:26] How reporters uncovered the opaque network of companies linked to the deadly cargo

[30:32] Rana and Aubrey describe the impact of the investigation in Lebanon and the UK

[32:38] Paul describes his campaign for justice

This podcast was originally produced in Spanish. Following recent events in Venezuela, we are sharing it with a wider audience through this human-reviewed AI translation. This is an experiment, so minor imperfections may be present. Original Spanish podcast below:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5inyH4WRo1H82KgvmnmUHh
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuello-blanco-manos-sucias/id1872501127

We welcome your feedback on this experiment at occrp.org/podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did an Azerbaijani boy end up owning a building in London’s Mayfair that housed a restaurant with two Michelin stars, an art gallery, and the Condé Nast headquarters?

Hint: His father is the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev.

When two of our top editors got hold of the Pandora Papers — a vast trove of leaked documents from offshore service providers — they knew it could provide key insights into how some of the most corrupt people in the world, including rulers of entire countries, hide their wealth.

Miranda Patrucic and Ilya Lozovsky take you behind the scenes of their investigation, which revealed how Azerbaijan’s ruling Aliyev family acquired vast properties in London— and how they even used their children to do it. 

Dirty Deeds is a Little Gem production for OCCRP. The host is Nick Wallis. The producer is Lindsay Riley at Rethink Audio, with research from Phoebe Adler-Ryan and Riham Moussa.

Read the investigation:

• Azerbaijan’s Ruling Aliyev Family and Their Associates Acquired Dozens of Prime London Properties Worth Nearly $700 Million

(The Pandora Papers is a project based on a leak of offshore documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with OCCRP and other media outlets.)

This week’s guests

• Miranda Patrucic - @MirandaOCCRP 
• Ilya Lozovsky - @ichbinilya
• Oliver Bullough - @OliverBullough

Transcript

• Read the transcript on the OCCRP website here.

More information on OCCRP:

• Keep up with the latest in global organized crime and corruption at OCCRP and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
• Follow on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get the latest updates.
• Support investigative journalism in the public interest. Donate to OCCRP.

.

This podcast was originally produced in Spanish. Following recent events in Venezuela, we are sharing it with a wider audience through this human-reviewed AI translation. This is an experiment, so minor imperfections may be present. Original Spanish podcast below:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5inyH4WRo1H82KgvmnmUHh
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuello-blanco-manos-sucias/id1872501127

We welcome your feedback on this experiment at occrp.org/podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome To Dirty Deeds: Tales of Global Crime & Corruption.

Are you ready to venture into the shadows? Dirty Deeds unravels the hidden stories of the fraud and deceit behind some of the biggest international scandals in recent years, told by the investigative journalists who uncovered them.

Every other week, we’ll bring you reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a worldwide network of journalists who cross borders and bad guys to shine a bright light on some of the world’s most dangerous criminal networks. We’ll travel the globe from the oil fields of Venezuela to the rosewood forests of Namibia to the steppes of Central Asia. And don’t forget the posh London real estate where much of the dirty cash ends up. These are the inside stories of how the powerful, unscrupulous, and well-connected can acquire unimaginable wealth — and of what it takes to expose them.

Dirty Deeds is a Little Gem production for OCCRP. The host is Nick Wallis. The producer is Lindsay Riley at Rethink Audio, with research from Phoebe Adler-Ryan and Riham Moussa.

More information on OCCRP:

• Keep up with the latest in global organized crime and corruption at OCCRP and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
• Follow on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get the latest updates.
• Support investigative journalism in the public interest. Donate to OCCRP.

.

This podcast was originally produced in Spanish. Following recent events in Venezuela, we are sharing it with a wider audience through this human-reviewed AI translation. This is an experiment, so minor imperfections may be present. Original Spanish podcast below:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5inyH4WRo1H82KgvmnmUHh
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuello-blanco-manos-sucias/id1872501127

We welcome your feedback on this experiment at occrp.org/podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.