Zdravko Ljubas

Jan 15, 2025 | occrp.org | Zdravko Ljubas

The U.K. government has launched consultations on proposals to tackle ransomware, which is estimated to cost the country’s economy billions of pounds annually. The proposals focus on banning ransomware payments by public bodies, mandating incident reporting, and disrupting cybercriminal activities. The consultations will close on April 8, 2025. The government aims to protect hospitals, railways, and public services from ransomware attacks, the Home Office said Tuesday in a statement.

Jan 14, 2025 | occrp.org | Zdravko Ljubas

Komi Daily, an independent regional media outlet focused on the Komi Republic in northeastern European Russia, has become the first media platform to be declared a “terrorist organization” by the Russian Federation. The online news platform, which highlights the region’s traditions, culture, history, and language, announced the designation on Saturday via its Telegram channel, just two days after publishing an article on local wedding customs.

Dec 5, 2024 | occrp.org | Zdravko Ljubas

Russian security forces on Thursday searched the home of the parents of investigative journalist Alesya Marokhovskaya, editor-in-chief of OCCRP’s Latvia-based partner Important Stories (Важные истории or IStories), which Moscow has previously designated as a “foreign agent.”The search followed charges brought against Marokhovskaya in Russia’s Far East Magadan region.

Dec 4, 2024 | occrp.org | Zdravko Ljubas |Matt Brown

British authorities have sent two evangelical church officials in East and North-East London to prison for stealing from children’s charity funds through fraudulent gift aid claims. One bought a house and the other turned into a loan shark. A third pastor received a suspended sentence.

Nov 29, 2024 | occrp.org | Zdravko Ljubas

Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia arrested 11 people suspected of smuggling more than half a tonne of cocaine from South America into the European Union, the EU law enforcement agency Europol said Wednesday. The criminal network is believed to have imported multi-tonne shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Brazil and Ecuador, Europol said. In March 2021, authorities seized cocaine concealed in the modified floor of a cargo container at the Croatian port of Ploče.