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Shell’s Bahamas trading office made $6.2 billion in profit from 2018 to 2023 with just 37 staff and a 0% tax rate. Leaked data analysed by SOMO and Leiden University reveals that is 104 times more profit per employee than Shell’s average, achieved by routing standard crude oil through a tax haven.
Palantir earns billions from government contracts around the world, including across Europe. Yet European trade unions say the US tech giant pays next to nothing in tax. How does a company profiting from so much public money contribute so little in return?
Tech giant Palantir accused of ‘agressive tax avoidance’ at Europe’s expense
Tech company Palantir has contracts with governments across Europe yet pays minimal tax in those countries, new research shows. Trade unions and critics say European taxpayers are helping fund a compa...
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As the global hunger crisis worsens, the world's biggest economies are pulling back. The US drove 70% of aid cuts in 2025. Europe also slashed spending. China has given nothing to the World Food Programme this year, while India has contributed relatively little. The UN warns millions could die.
Hunger crisis grows while major donors retreat
Conflict and climate change are driving a global hunger crisis, threatening millions with starvation. But as food insecurity deepens in many countries, wealthy donors are scaling back humanitarian aid...
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He swapped ski racing for shell companies, fraud, and luxury cars. Now he’s in a Milan prison. As the EPPO turns five, we revisit one of its biggest cases: Alexander Mair and a €600m scheme that exposed how vulnerable Europe’s recovery funds were to fraud.
Ski racer swindled hundreds of millions to splash on cars, watches, and property
This summer, as the European Prosecutor’s Office has turned five, FTM revisits some of the office’s biggest, crucial, and weirdest fraud cases. This installment: Operation “Resilient Crime”.
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This week at Follow the Money: 🎙 We launched our summer podcast series by exploring the legacy of murdered Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak 🕵️♂️ We revealed new details about the AI researcher suspected of spying on NATO 💣 We examined Estonia’s controversial new deal with a Turkish arms manufacturer
Risky business, deadly consequences
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Ján Kuciak paid the ultimate price for exposing how money and power collide in Slovakia. His murder sparked a movement to finish what he started. In our summer podcast series, Lukáš Diko of Investigatívne centrum Jána Kuciaka joins FTM to discuss Kuciak’s legacy and investigative journalism today.
For a year, she interned at the military heart of NATO. Last week, Canadian AI researcher Claire Z. was arrested on suspicion of spying. Her unusual behaviour and questions about security put her on authorities’ radar. How did an internship turn into an espionage case?
Espionage at NATO: This is the suspect who was arrested last week
After allegations of a spy at NATO’s offices emerged over the weekend, FTM and media partners can reveal details on the identity of the suspect.
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A 2010 leaked document reveals why a carmaker giant saw cleaner engines as a “major risk” – plus a former EU auditor dodges trial and the EU’s diplomatic service claims it doesn’t have a reform memo about itself that everyone else seems to. Read our last Bureau Brussels before the summer break 👇
Why a French carmaker saw greener cars as a ‘risk’
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To protect Europe from Russia, Estonia is getting a new munitions factory. The builder: a Turkish arms manufacturer with an explosive reputation. Why was the country chosen for this company?
This arms manufacturer was jailed in Brussels. Now Estonia is welcoming his investment
As Estonia moves to increase munitions production amid threats from Moscow, a mining town is pinning its hopes on a €300-million investment by a controversial Turkish arms manufacturer.
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This week at Follow the Money: 🌏 China’s secret EU real estate investments exposed 💰 Leaked files reveal Shell’s tax haven billions 🍰 Big Food’s lobby against sugar taxes 🎙️ Podcast: the reality of Brussels’ hydrogen hype Plus partner leaks on Russian tech links & failing polluter pays rules.
Leaks, loopholes & lobbyists
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What do Scottish wind farms have in common with Amsterdam’s Red Light District? They’re both partially owned by China. As it turns out, China’s central bank has quietly injected capital into European infrastructure and real estate. “This is only the tip of the iceberg.”
From police headquarters to wind farms: China’s hidden investments in infrastructure and real estate across Europe
Through an opaque network of shell companies and Luxembourg holding firms, an agency that manages China’s foreign reserves has quietly acquired stakes in Europe’s critical infrastructure, utilities, a...
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Spain has dominated headlines recently, from its FIFA World Cup win to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez standing firm against Donald Trump. Politically, it has become one of Europe's most progressive voices. But do Spaniards agree? We asked political analyst Elsa Arnaiz Chico.
How did Shell make $6.2 billion through an office with just 37 employees? Leaked financial reports and research by SOMO reveal how the oil giant shifted profits through the Bahamas and other tax havens, potentially depriving countries of billions in tax revenue.
Shell shifted billions in profits to tax havens, leaked files reveal
Leaked financial reports show how Shell moved profits through tax havens such as the Bahamas and Switzerland – potentially depriving developing nations of hundreds of millions of euros. While some of ...
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Should we pay more for sugary foods? For governments, a sugar tax is a simple way to encourage healthier choices. But Big Food companies are doing everything in their power to block these plans – from legal threats to warnings of job losses. And more often than not, they get their way.
A refined strategy: how Europe’s industry lobby managed to block sugar taxes
Across Europe, plans for sugar taxes are being shelved, existing levies watered down, or scrapped altogether. Behind these political decisions lies a recurring pattern: food and soft drink companies d...
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Europe set sky-high targets for green hydrogen. Today, it’s nowhere near meeting them. Journalist Jesse Pinster traced Brussels’ big hydrogen bet back to one professor: Ad van Wijk. How did his vision become that of Europe?
Podcast | The man who sold Brussels the hydrogen dream
Europe set sky-high targets for green hydrogen. Today, it’s nowhere near meeting them. Journalist Jesse Pinster traced Brussels’ big hydrogen bet back to one professor: Ad van Wijk. How did his vision...
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🚨 Calling all investigative journalists! Got an investigation that uncovers corruption, exposes wrongdoing, or holds power to account? Whether you're a freelancer or part of a newsroom, we'd love to hear your pitch. Fill out the form and send it to pitches@ftm.eu.
Pitch your next investigation to Follow the Money
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🇪🇺 The Commission wants a “Brussels perestroika” – a major restructuring. But its transparency claims don’t match its own data. We checked the numbers. Plus: EU tax simplification and maze-like access to the EU’s anti-fraud office.
The Commission’s transparency problem, in its own words
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Is FIFA heading for a red card? After controversy over its ties to Donald Trump, FIFA now risks scrutiny over $1.2 million sent to Russian clubs linked to sanctioned entities. With another round of payments approaching, will it repeat the same foul? Read the full article: www.ftm.eu/articles/fif...
This week's Crime & Corruption newsletter: 🇭🇺 Hungary finally joins EPPO, while its leadership transforms ⚽ FIFA faces heat over US player’s suspension 🇺🇸 US launches offensive against the International Criminal Court By FTM journalists @simonvandorpe.bsky.social & @salsabilfayed.bsky.social
EU prosecutor’s office: more members, more problems?
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Is Spain really Europe’s progressive poster child? 🇪🇸🏛️ Across Europe, Spain is seen as proof that progressive politics can still succeed and govern with confidence. But the reality behind its image as the continent’s left-wing darling is more complicated.
Podcast | Special: Is Spain really Europe’s progressive poster child?
For many observers across Europe, Spain has become a rare success story – offering hope that progressive politics can still succeed, govern, and project confidence on the world stage. But the reality ...
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The latest Secrecy Tracker newsletter is out! 🚨🔐 What's inside? 🇵🇸 Secrecy over EU-funded infrastructure in Gaza ⚖️ Concerns over transparency at the EU’s top court 🇩🇪 Germany’s plans to weaken information access 📱 A new probe into von der Leyen’s texts 🔍 Beneficial ownership updates
Commission buries Gaza audits as EU top court faces transparency backlash
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The far right is gaining power. Europe’s green laws are paying the price. Behind the rollback: a powerful but little-known network built over decades by Austrian businessman and former MEP Paul Rübig. His motto? “Work hard, strike precisely.”
Meet the Austrian businessman harnessing the far-right to cut Europe’s green laws
Over the course of 30 years, the Austrian entrepreneur Paul Rübig has built up a network that reaches deep into the European bureaucracy. In part benefiting from a shift to the right in the political ...
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This week in Bureau Brussels: 🚗 Tesla’s tax structure puts Singapore back on the Dutch radar ⚖️ EU prosecutors won’t pursue a high-profile complaint over NGO funding 🏛️ Tensions rise as Parliament refuses to lift another MEP’s immunity
Tesla puts Singapore back on the Netherlands’ tax radar
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This week at FTM, we uncovered: 🚀 The potential environmental cost of Musk and Bezos’s space race 🌳 The forces behind delays to the EU’s deforestation law 🎙️ How far-right groups continue to use PayPal From partners: illegal gambling promotion and weak oversight of industrial pig farm pollution.
Space races, forest failures & toxic profits
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Space belongs to all of us, and therefore to no one. Musk, Bezos, and China can send up as many satellites as they like. And that’s exactly what they’re doing: 1.5 million ‘orbital data centres’ are scheduled to go up in the coming years. But at what cost to Earth?
Musk and Bezos want to transform space. But at what cost?
The new race for space is accelerating, pitting Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin against Chinese players. They are planning to launch millions of satellites and data centres in orbit, ra...
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Far-right groups in Europe are using PayPal to sell merchandise and raise money, despite a ban on transactions that promote hate or discrimination. This highlights a broader failure by Big Tech, which is not just turning a blind eye but allowing extremist content to remain on its platforms.
Podcast | PayPal and the business of hate
Far-right groups in Europe are using PayPal to sell merchandise and raise money, despite a ban on transactions that promote hate or discrimination. This highlights a broader failure by Big Tech, which...
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This week in Bureau Brussels: 🔬 Israel’s EU research funding cut by half ⚖️ Why is the “simplified” supply chain law still so complex? 🤖 Europe’s transparency promises meet Big Tech lobbying
EU research funds to Israel halved in 2025
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This week at Follow the Money, we exposed: 💳 Far-right groups selling merch via PayPal ⚖️ EU Court judges' financial interests 🎙️ Europe’s Palantir dilemma 🚢 First images of an armed Russian gas tanker Plus: an Irish-linked suicide forum and lobbying against toxic pesticide export bans.
Hate merch, toxic trade & armed waters
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This week in Crime & Corruption: - EU anti-fraud office keeps its black box shut - The EU’s crypto wild west faces new legislation - Prosecutors seek to lift an former EU commissioner’s immunity in Qatargate
EU anti-fraud office keeps its black box shut
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The controversial US company Palantir provides critical software to intelligence agencies, armed forces, and police services across Europe. While European governments are growing increasingly uneasy about the firm, European investors are doubling down on their investments.
Podcast | Investors flock to Palantir as governments flee
The controversial US company Palantir supplies crucial software to intelligence services, armies and police forces in Europe. European governments are growing nervous about the US firm. Meanwhile, Eur...
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