Simon Van Dorpe
@simonvandorpe.bsky.social
Investigative Journalist at @FollowtheMoney.bsky.social. Covering EU affairs, with a focus on anti-fraud, corruption and industrial policy. DM or email on simon.van.dorpe@ftm.eu
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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To be clear: This is funding for what the State Department calls "civilizational allies" - MAGA-aligned people and parties in Europe, who share their disdain for human rights and their preference for ethnically pure societies and a totally unregulated internet
Anne Applebaum@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 3w agoThe State Department has just put out a tender, offering funding of up to $3 million to European organizations who want to fight against "Supra-national institutions" - presumably the EU - and governments who seek to regulate the internet and end Western Civilization. www.state.gov/drl-nofo-dev...
If you're active in the Brussels bubble, you might have bumped into this EU veteran. Now, you'll know his story. Meet the talented Mr. Rübig www.ftm.eu/articles/aus...
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 ...
ftm.eu
Anytime any respectable journalist mentions our two chief negotiators with Iran, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, they should note both receive sizeable paychecks from Middle Eastern nations with deep equities in these talks. It is a fundamental corruption.
The far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) group has allegedly misspent almost €280,000 in EU funds.
News alert: Ursula von der Leyen’s in hot water over text messages once again! Just earlier this month, the European Ombudsman told her not to auto-delete texts. Today, the watchdog is opening an inquiry into how VDL handled a confidential group chat with Starmer, Zelensky, Macron and other leaders.
🕵️ A @europarl.europa.eu vote to shield 3 MEPs from criminal scrutiny risks calling into question Belgium's role to investigate bribery and foreign interference in Brussels. ➡️@ftm.eu's newsletter with reactions from @davidcormand.bsky.social and @repasi.bsky.social www.ftm.eu/articles/cri...
Criminal investigation into Huawei lobbying gets torpedoed
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
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European prosecutors are investigating InnoEnergy, an EU-backed clean tech investor that has received €760 million in public funding. The probe follows a complaint by an entrepreneur who was once backed by the organisation and now alleges financial irregularities and fraud.
EU prosecutors investigate clean tech investor over suspected fraud
European prosecutors are investigating InnoEnergy, an EU-funded sustainable tech company. The case was brought by an entrepreneur who had received support from the company, but later suspected it was ...
ftm.eu
The big news of today's #Huaweigate vote was NOT that @europarl.europa.eu lifted the immunity of Fulvio #Martusciello ⚡ but that it refused to waive the immunity of 3 other MEPs, saying there could be "fumus persecutionis" meaning Belgian prosecutors would've tried to politically damage MEPs 🧵 ⤵️
The big news of today's #Huaweigate vote was NOT that @europarl.europa.eu lifted the immunity of Fulvio #Martusciello ⚡ but that it refused to waive the immunity of 3 other MEPs, saying there could be "fumus persecutionis" meaning Belgian prosecutors would've tried to politically damage MEPs 🧵 ⤵️
Tim Miller nailed it: "What a way to celebrate America 250 and the twilight of liberal democracy." 😢
Patrick Chovanec@prchovanec.bsky.social · 2mo agoIt's a day that will symbolically mark the decline of our nation.
Now updated with statements of European chief prosecutor Laura KövesI and Transparency International ⚡️
Simon Van Dorpe@simonvandorpe.bsky.social · 2mo agoIn a rare clash between two EU watchdogs, EU prosecutors emerged victorious. The EPPO sued the European Court of Auditors for refusing to allow a dozen of its staff to testify in an ongoing fraud probe involving the ECA’s former president. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-... Full story on @ftm.eu
In a rare clash between two EU watchdogs, the EPPO has emerged victorious. The bloc’s independent prosecutor sued the ECA for refusing to allow a dozen of its staff to testify in an ongoing fraud investigation involving the institution’s former president, Klaus-Heiner Lehne.
EU financial watchdog cannot shield its staff from fraud probe, court rules
A court ruling against the European Court of Auditors (ECA) could strengthen the hand of EU prosecutors, and make it harder for Brussels institutions to push back against criminal investigations into ...
ftm.eu
In a rare clash between two EU watchdogs, EU prosecutors emerged victorious. The EPPO sued the European Court of Auditors for refusing to allow a dozen of its staff to testify in an ongoing fraud probe involving the ECA’s former president. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-... Full story on @ftm.eu
EU financial watchdog cannot shield its staff from fraud probe, court rules
A court ruling against the European Court of Auditors (ECA) could strengthen the hand of EU prosecutors, and make it harder for Brussels institutions to push back against criminal investigations into ...
ftm.eu
NEW: The Moroccan Banque Central Populaire (BCP) today reached a €175 million (‼️) settlement with Belgian prosecutors, who were investigating the bank and its French subsidiary, Chaabi Bank, over alleged illegal banking activities in Belgium. Read more on @ftm.eu www.ftm.eu/articles/mor...
Moroccan bank pays €175 million to settle Belgian criminal investigation
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
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⚡ EU watchdog warns against mass deletion of leaders' texts📱 Ursula von der Leyen is under fire once again over her texting. This time, the European Ombudsman told the Commission chief to stop auto-deleting her texts with EU leaders. Read the scoop (gift link): www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
EU watchdog says von der Leyen must not auto-delete texts
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
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The Europe of Sovereign Nations party risks being banned for failing to uphold EU values -- a bombshell development in the quiet world of #europeanparties. Is this acceptable? Is this censorship? Here is a thread to know more.. in only 38 posts! 👇 1/38 via @politico.eu and @maxgriera.bsky.social
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 2mo agoThe far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations party — home of Alternative for Germany — could be outlawed for failing to uphold EU values.
Tony Blair, who once led Britain into Iraq, is quietly trying to sell Trump’s Gaza to European governments. Here's how that is going (🎁 link): www.ftm.eu/articles/ton...
This is how Tony Blair became Trump’s Gaza salesman in Europe
Former UK leader Tony Blair has become a key player in Donald Trump’s plans for post-war Gaza. Blair is using his contacts and his non-profit to lobby European policymakers in a bid to build support for the US president’s Board of Peace, FTM has found.
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In case you missed our article about Manfred Weber’s (big fat Greek) raid on the European People’s Party, I just discussed it with @emmaduchatinier.bsky.social for the @ftm.eu podcast ⤵️
Follow the Money EU@ftm.eu · 2mo agoManfred Weber is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Brussels. Under his leadership, Europe’s top political family hired two consultants, and paid them more than €500,000 in six months. Journalist Simon Van Dorpe discovered this affair, and discusses it in our latest podcast episode.
If the Greek government is sincere about leaving no stone unturned, it would not shut out EPPO from a case that people deeply care about. Mitsotakis actively avoids EPPO involvement, and I wonder what @eppgroup.bsky.social thinks of this. Justice is not about protecting your own.
Nektaria Stamouli@nstamouli.bsky.social · 3mo agoGreece moves to sideline EU prosecutor from investigating parliamentarians www.politico.eu/article/gree...
Twee Amerikanen zijn veroordeeld tot een schadevergoeding van 13,3 miljoen euro omdat ze de Belgische schatkist voor een monsterbedrag hebben opgelicht. Al sinds 2018 onderzoekt @tijd.be met buitenlandse media zoals @ftm.eu / @simonvandorpe.bsky.social de #CumExFiles. www.tijd.be/politiek-eco...
Amerikanen lichten Belgische staatskas voor miljoenen op
Twee Amerikanen zijn veroordeeld tot een schadevergoeding van 13,3 miljoen euro omdat ze de Belgische schatkist voor een monsterbedrag hebben opgelicht. Ze lieten zich geld uitbetalen terwijl ze daar ...
tijd.be
They claimed millions in tax refunds for dividends that had never been paid out. Now, two American tax specialists have been convicted of defrauding the Belgian state. According to the judges, they forged documents to claim back dividend tax on Belgian shares, even though they had never owned them.
Belgium convicts key figures in global tax fraud scandal
A Belgian court has handed down the latest convictions in the global CumEx scandal, sentencing two US tax specialists over a dividend fraud scheme. The pair will also face trial in Denmark, as part of...
ftm.eu
💸 Reclaiming dividend tax on shares they never owned. That is how 2 American financiers ripped 🇧🇪 off in the latest "CumEx" tax fraud case. The court ordered them to pay 13,3 million plus interests in damages. But their biggest trial (in Denmark) is yet to come... www.ftm.eu/articles/bel...
Belgium convicts key figures in global tax fraud scandal
A Belgian court has handed down the latest convictions in the global CumEx scandal, sentencing two US tax specialists over a dividend fraud scheme. The pair will also face trial in Denmark, as part of...
ftm.eu
Record losses or not: InnoEnergy kept rewarding its leadership with bonuses. Its CEO and CFO have received almost €4 million on top of their salaries, raising “moral reservations” with experts. The EU-backed clean tech fund has come under scrutiny before for making “fishy” climate claims.
EU-funded clean tech firm pays huge bonuses despite record losses
EU-backed clean tech investor InnoEnergy has awarded its CEO and CFO nearly €4 million in bonuses and other benefits since 2010, even in recent years when it suffered record losses. In some instances,...
ftm.eu
🔥 More details about Didier Reynders' alleged money laundering: "The transactions involved 245 cash deposits made between 2001 and 2017, worth a combined €836,500, as well as 779 e-Lotto transfers between 2017 and 2024 amounting to more than €202,000." 👀
Follow the Money EU@ftm.eu · 3mo agoING Belgium has agreed to pay a €1.6 million settlement over alleged failures to report suspicious transactions linked to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders, who is implicated in a money laundering case.
“The European Parliament refused to reimburse the costs, but where is the investigation?” Reactions to yesterday's revelations about EPP consultants from MEPs @chloe-ridel.fr (S&D), @raquelgarciaher.bsky.social (Renew) and Greens co-chair @vulatsetsi.bsky.social www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
EU lawmakers slam top EU party over costly consultants
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
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“This case is further proof of the urgent need to strengthen rules and #transparency around the use of public money in Europe,” García Hermida-van der Walle said. “It shows the system needs reform, and why I support an independent EU #ethics body.”
EU lawmakers slam top EU party over costly consultants
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
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Good and necessary reporting of @ftm.eu @ftm.nl @simonvandorpe.bsky.social
Top EU party spent €100k a month on two consultants – with little to show for it
After Manfred Weber took over as president, the European People’s Party hired two advisors with deep connections to Greece's ruling party, racking up over half a million euros in costs for the EU part...
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