Head Topics: EPA Announces ‘Completion of Major Cleanup Activities’ in East Palestine, OH, 8 Months After Toxic Train Derailment
Head Topics: EPA Announces ‘Completion of Major Cleanup Activities’ in East Palestine, OH, 8 Months After Toxic Train Derailment This article features Government Accountability Project's Environmental Investigator, Lesley Pacey, and was originally published here. The EPA is facing criticism for its response, including from the agency’s own inspector general, [...]
Washington Post: Whistleblower says utility should repay $382 million in federal aid given to failed clean coal plant
A former employee is suing to force a Mississippi utility to repay $382 million that the federal government gave to build a failed coal-fueled power plant.
World Socialist Website: 24 migrant children illegally working at Ohio chicken slaughter house
24 migrant children illegally working at Ohio chicken slaughter house This article features Government Accountability Project and was originally published here. Twenty-four migrant children were removed from a chicken slaughter house in Kidron, Ohio, southwest of Akron, earlier this month. The children were being illegally employed by Gerber Poultry [...]
News Nation: EPA official says agency made mistakes in East Palestine
“People are really sick here, and I think the EPA understands that,” Pacey said. “Why they haven’t done the testing that they need to do and inform the public about what’s going on is the real question.”
News Nation: Watchdog group demands East Palestine testing records from EPA
A government watchdog group is requesting more records from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding chemical testing done in East Palestine, Ohio, following a train derailment and controlled burn that released toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil.
The Marietta Times: Watchdog group asks EPA for dioxin records
A government whistleblower-protecting watchdog group made another attempt for Environmental Protection Agency records concerning dioxin testing in the wake of the train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine through the Freedom of Information Act.
Daja: Caribbean passports: How did Iraqi banker Hassan Nasser Jaafar al-Lami benefit from Dominican citizenship?
Al-Lami is considered the most prominent holder of this nationality along with other Iraqi businessmen, but Al-Lami has a different story, as his cross-border relations extended from Iraq to Iran, Syria and then Lebanon, until a woman who claimed to be an employee of the Central Bank of Iraq described him, in a television interview, as "Qassem Soleimani financial" in Iraq.
Weekly Blitz: Spanish La Liga received Iranian dark money
The documentation suggests that an intermediary with a Dominica passport facilitated a shell company in Hong Kong to transfer funds from Iran to La Liga, potentially skirting financial regulations.
infoLibre: LaLiga collected from Iran through a Chinese shell company and multiple deposits from ATMs in Dubai
These methods of transferring money illustrate well how passports acquired in places like Dominica can be used to circumvent sanctions and make secret payments.
The Guardian: EU raises security concerns as it reveals five Caribbean states have sold 88,000 ‘golden passports’
The EU has raised security concerns about the trade in “golden passports” and vowed to tighten visa controls after revealing five Caribbean states have sold citizenship to 88,000 individuals from countries including Iran, Russia and China.
Blitz: Bangladeshis illegally bought citizenship of Caribbean countries
Caribbean nation Dominica is accused of selling citizenship under its ‘citizenship by investment’ program, which allows the purchase of a passport for a base price of US$100,000, whereas Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is accused of selling citizenship to oligarchs, officials from repressive regimes, politicians, human rights abusers, drug and weapon traffickers, money-launderers, and notorious criminals.
Dominica News Online: Investigation Reveals People with ‘Dark Pasts’ Obtained Dominica Passports
Dominica News Online: Investigation Reveals People with ‘Dark Pasts’ Obtained Dominica Passports This article features an investigation by Government Accountability Project’s Investigator, Zack Kopplin, and was originally published here. A former spymaster in Afghanistan who was accused of human rights violation, a convicted millionaire and former Libyan colonel, and [...]
OCCRP: Implausible Budget Numbers, Undisclosed Names Raise Red Flags about Dominica’s Citizenship-By-Investment Program
Thousands of names appear to have not been listed in public records of who has purchased Dominica’s valuable passport.
Guardian: Dominica may have sold thousands more ‘golden passports’ than it disclosed, analysis suggests
Investigation raises questions about transparency and governance of $1bn citizenship by investment scheme.
Miami Herald: ‘Golden passports’: Sale of citizenship in Caribbean raises security concerns
Individuals from Russia, China and Iran are among the newest citizens, for example, of Dominica, courtesy of golden passports. Their places of origin would normally result in them facing strict scrutiny before being allowed to enter most countries, but with the Dominican passport they are able to enjoy visa-free access.
Breaking Belize News: From Afghan spymasters to Gaddafi’s colonel: The faces behind Dominica’s citizenship sales revealed
Тhіѕ ѕсhеmе, whісh аllоwѕ glоbаl сіtіzеnѕ vіѕа-frее ассеѕѕ tо 140 соuntrіеѕ, іnсludіng mаnу іn thе ЕU, іnvоlvеѕ рurсhаѕіng Dоmіnісаn nаtіоnаlіtу fоr а mіnіmum рrісе оf $100,000 (£82,000).
Guardian: Luxury rooms and a swim-up bar: hotel with funding from Dominica’s golden passport scheme
Former Afghan spy chief among those to gain citizenship though investment in Caribbean island
Forbes: Inside Dominica, The Tiny Caribbean Island Offering “Golden Passports” To Billionaires And Oligarchs
A new cross-border investigation revealed that at least three Russian oligarchs and a controversial crypto investor have obtained passports through the island of Dominica’s citizenship by investment program.
OCCRP: After Publicly Opposing Dual Citizenship, Jordan’s Former PM Obtained a Dominica Passport
Dominica’s citizenship-by-investment program at the time would have allowed the family to buy citizenship through a $200,000 contribution to a development fund or an investment in local real estate, plus other fees.
OCCRP: Investigation Reveals Thousands Who Bought ‘Golden Passports’ From Dominica
An Afghan official accused of human rights abuses, a Libyan colonel who served under Gaddafi, and Saddam Hussein’s top nuclear scientist are among those who bought citizenship from the tiny Caribbean country.