OCCRP: Veggie scam

What connects terrorists in Iraq, cleaning ladies in Ukraine, and dodgy businessmen in Turkey? Vegetables and tax fraud. A series of scams helped Al Qaeda and hurt Romanian tax officials to the tune of at least € 50 million.

Stories

Building a highway to crime from the Middle East into Europe

On the morning of June 17, 2013, a judge in the Ilfov County Courthouse just outside of Bucharest began trying the case of a Swedish citizen of Iranian origin.

23 July 2014

Crooks Steal the Money, While Refugees Pay the Price

The crime, according to prosecutors, was tax evasion by companies importing food to Romania. But there was a new wrinkle in the scheme.

23 July 2014

Ukrainian Cleaners Discover They Own Companies - And Owe Taxes

Although the 47-year-old lives in Ukraine’s Odessa region, she is, according to company records, the administrator and shareholder of a Romanian vegetable...