Finance Uncovered

An investigation into overseas properties accumulated by the elites who rule what is considered one of the most kleptocratic states in Africa has found 11 upmarket homes in France and the US linked to a trusted adviser of the country’s president.

Last month in a shock announcement, Malawi’s President Mutharika ordered an immediate ban on raw mineral exports. At the state opening of parliament, the 85-year-old one-time law professor also confirmed a review of his country’s legal and regulatory mining framework plus an audit of the licence registry.

Successive British governments have promoted the UK’s corporate transparency rules as a “register of beneficial ownership”.

At first glance, Lemixton Solutions Ltd could hardly have looked less remarkable: a simple, single-shareholder British company, owned and run by a 71-year-old horse-loving grandmother from Kent, that hadn’t traded since 2020.

On the far edges of Makanjira village, where Lake Malawi’s waters lap softly against the shoreline, a rusted sign stands half-swallowed by tall grass. The letters are fading, the post is tilting, but the name is still just visible: Mawei Mining Company Ltd. “There used to be Chinese people here,” said 58-year-old farmer Alinafe Mbewe, pointing toward the overgrown path where drilling rigs once stood. “They told us this place would change. We waited.

When word reached billionaire art collector José Mugrabi that reporters had been making discreet inquiries in the art world about the source of his wealth, he became intrigued. “I thought, carambas, why are they not calling me? This is something curious.” So he picked up the phone, and invited the journalists from Finance Uncovered and Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP) to his Paris apartment in the exclusive 7th arrondissement for a rare interview.

Hundreds of millions of dollars from two companies registered in Britain’s overseas territories have flowed to the brutal Myanmar junta since it seized power in 2021, in what legal experts believe could be a breach of UK sanctions. Finance Uncovered can reveal that two joint venture companies incorporated in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are transporting gas from some of Myanmar’s largest offshore projects in partnership with the junta-controlled state energy company.

We witnessed history in Nepal earlier this month and investigative journalism helped make it happen. Gen Z fury at the wealth and privilege displayed by the sons and daughters of our ruling elite sparked a rebellion that overturned our government. Videos went viral showing the lavish lifestyles of children of politicians, including former prime ministers. These so-called Politically Exposed Persons were seen holidaying abroad, studying in elite Western universities and flaunting wealth online.

The magic of being able to understand corporate financial statements is that once absorbed, this knowledge can be used to hold all manner of companies and powerful actors to account. Journalists and activists we have trained have used their new skills to investigate pharmaceuticals, gambling, human trafficking in the restaurant trade, the extractive industries, powerful tech firms, properties owned through shady companies – and many more.

We help fellow journalists deliver follow the money investigations