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2 weeks ago | 
theafricareport.com | Nick Kochan |Kanika Saigal
When police in Mauritius arrested Navin Ramgoolam in February 2015 on suspicion of conspiracy and money laundering, just weeks after he lost the premiership in national elections, they found around $6.6m in various currencies in his house in Port Louis. This led to 23 anti-money laundering charges. But the case is stuck in the judicial system and Ramgoolam is back in government as prime minister after winning the elections in October last year. Get full access to The Africa Report
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1 month ago | 
hamhigh.co.uk | Nick Kochan
Hussein outside the shutters of his former cafe which was once plastered with photographs of local MP Jeremy Corbyn. (Image: PA/Rosa Kochan) Until last year, visitors to Finsbury Park would have seen the familiar sight of a café plastered with pictures of local MP Jeremy Corbyn.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
hamhigh.co.uk | Nick Kochan
Joe Curtis and Victoria Grove are the duo who have revamped and renamed their Crouch End pub The Good Reader (Image: Rosa Kochan.) Joe Curtis and Victoria Grove had walked past the Princess Alexandra in Crouch End many times over the years, admiring its garden space and extensive interior. They dreamt of how they could transform the Park Road pub if it ever became available. Victoria grew up in Crouch End, and Joe, who hails from Kentish Town, has lived there for a decade.
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Oct 8, 2024 | 
decanter.com | Nick Kochan
Elias Maalouf was squishing grapes at his Rayak Winery and Distillery, a smaller vineyard with 12 hectares of cultivated land in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, on 23 September, when a bomb flew out of the sky and landed in front of his building. The blast blew out the roof of his laboratory and shattered many of the bottles of wine kept in a storeroom. It also damaged his and his parents’ houses. Passersby were killed and Maalouf’s nerves were shattered.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
theafricareport.com | Nick Kochan
The suspicion of UAE processing illegally mined gold has led key gold traders, such as Swiss company, Metalor Technologies, to refuse to handle gold refined in the UAE. Understand Africa's tomorrow... today Get full access to The Africa Report
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
kochan.co.uk | Nick Kochan
How the life of a winemaker was turned upside down in a split second. Elias Maalouf was squishing his grapes when a bomb fell. His life has been turned upside down. Now, he says, “people should invest in peace”. ‘War is stupid’. Bombs had just landed on a neighbouring village just before Elias spoke to me on 26 September. A bomb had also hit a Hezbollah storehouse of Katyusha rocket launchers close to his Winery and a number had exploded shortly before we spoke.
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Sep 24, 2024 | 
theneweuropean.co.uk | Nick Kochan
Cyprus was once a congenial bolthole for Russians who sought security for their business, with minimal controls or taxes. The coastal resort of Limassol was dubbed “little Russia”, and visitors likened it to a smaller version of Dubai where the names of skyscrapers were in Cyrillic rather than Arabic. Cyprus became a launchpad for investments in other EU countries and the island prospered.
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Jul 17, 2024 | 
theafricareport.com | Nick Kochan
The regulator is bullish. “We are confident that we are on track, and with the continued efforts of all the relevant authorities, we should be able to meet the deadline,” said Mohammed Shahid Ahmed, Chief of Staff to the CEO of the NFIU (Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit). Get full access to The Africa Report
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Mar 30, 2024 | 
thetimes.co.uk | Nick Kochan
A former London banker faces trial at Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court this week on charges of aggravated money laundering, fraud, corruption and forgery connected to the global 1MDB corruption scandal around Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. Patrick Mahony is alleged to have made at least $37 million from the alleged laundering, which involved Geneva–based PetroSaudi International, where he was chief investment officer.
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Feb 27, 2024 | 
theneweuropean.co.uk | Nick Kochan
Three kilometres outside the regional town of Kyustendil travelling on the E871 highway from Sofia, I made a sharp right turn and was greeted by a signpost on a public road that said, “Entry strictly prohibited.”The area, deep in south-west Bulgaria and less than 200km from the border with North Macedonia, is a place of rough shrubs and high trees, bright green after heavy rain. Cherry trees grow in abundance in these parts – cherry jam is a major export. I turn right again and meet a roadblock.
