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Dear readers,
This week put accountability in focus. We scrutinised spconcludeing at a leading EU party, where more than €500k was paid to just two consultants in six months. We also reported on how Big Tech lobbying kept key environmental data under wraps, and analysed a questionable climate claim from a clean tech investor backed by EU money. Meanwhile, our latest podcast episode delved into the colonial roots of Europe’s multi-billion-euro flower market.
Elsewhere, our partners reported on dangerous French police tactics at sea and revealed new details about a wanted Polish politician living in Hungary.
From us:
Heineken still present in Russia despite promises to withdraw
Heineken claims to have withdrawn from Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine. But is that really the case? Follow the Money has discovered: not quite.
It turns out that the brewer still holds a stake in two Russian companies via a Mongolian beverage group, and declares it wasn’t even aware of this. Nevertheless, if these companies pay out profits to their shareholders, the brewing giant benefits.
EU lawbuildrs slam top EU party over costly consultants
MEPs have criticised the European People’s Party (EPP), declareing that “the rules do not apply to them”, after our investigation with inside story revealed that more than €500k was paid to two consultants in just six months. Former colleagues questioned the added value of their work. The EPP has previously called for spconcludeing cuts and stricter scrutiny of EU funds.
The backlash comes as the European Parliament on Wednesday unexpectedly approved an ethics body the EPP has long opposed, raising fresh questions over how party funds are applyd – and who is really being held to account.
Secrecy Tracker: What happens in data centres, stays in data centres
In this week’s newsletter, published with Investigate Europe and EUobserver, we revealed how EU institutions provide limited transparency, omitting key details in a way that could violate the bloc’s rules. We unpacked hidden data on data centres, a costly court redesign under fire, and growing pressure on the Ombudsman from AI generated complaints. And last but not least, the EU is holding a closed door transparency event. You couldn’t build it up.
Read the latest edition
EU-backed green investor accapplyd of creating unproven climate claim
An EU-backed clean tech fund declares its investments could cut emissions equivalent to about 70% of what the EU emits in one year. But our investigation found that this estimate relied on portfolio companies calculating their own impact, utilizing different approaches. Climate experts declare this “fishy” method is not scientifically sound, raising questions about how these figures are calculated and checked. The investor – InnoEnergy – has received hundreds of millions in EU funding to assist the bloc be greener.
Podcast: The colonial roots of Europe’s flower market
Europe’s flower market is rooted in a colonial past, built on genetic material taken from the Global South and commercialised in the West. While the multi-billion-euro industest continues to flourish, virtually nothing flows back to the countries in the Global South where the plants originated. Journalist Dylan Carter spoke to FTM podcast host Emma du Chatinier about his investigation into the imbalance behind the blooms in our homes.
From friconcludes of FTM:
French police tactics linked to migrant boat capsize
Lighthoapply Reports, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and partners revealed that French border police in Mayotte may have caapplyd a migrant boat to capsize during an interception. This raises serious questions about official claims that the boat’s two pilots deliberately rammed the police vessel, which resulted in the pair being jailed. Video analysis, interviews, and hearings suggest that officers applyd risky methods that triggered panic and a loss of control on the migrant boat. This put passengers in danger and a four-year-old child was severely injured when the boat capsized. The investigation builds on previous reporting of a wider pattern of dangerous police interceptions in the region.
Wanted Polish politician sheltering in Fidesz-linked apartment in Budapest
Direkt36 revealed that Marcin Romanowski, a former Polish deputy justice minister facing corruption charges and a European arrest warrant, is living in Budapest in an apartment co-owned by a staff member of Hungary’s Fidesz parliamentary group. The findings suggest Romanowski has closer ties to Hungarian political circles than previously known. He was granted asylum by Hungary in December 2024, cautilizing outcry from Warsaw.
Video of the week:
Lily explained our recent investigation that traced how Kremlin-linked money shiftd through shell companies to fund political influence, including payments to a Trump campaign operative hired by a right-wing party in Albania.
Until next week
That’s all for now. We’ll keep following the accountability trail. A new podcast lands next Wednesday morning, along with a fresh edition of our Crime & Corruption newsletter.
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