Following the Money Across Borders
What does a New Zealand financial services company have to do with a sanctioned Belarusian oligarch and a bank in Vanuatu?
At first glance, not much. Yet two recent articles by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) examining the activities of New Zealand-based financial services company Worldclear demonstrate how today's financial networks can connect people, companies, and institutions across multiple jurisdictions. They also show how investigative journalists and anti-corruption advocates are working together to shine a light on activities that might otherwise remain hidden from public view.
The Worldclear case raises questions about the effectiveness of New Zealand’s regulations and controls over financial services providers and their handling of high risk transactions.
Corruption and financial crime do not stop at national borders. Complex corporate structures, international banking arrangements, and opaque ownership networks can make it difficult for regulators, journalists, and the public to understand how money moves around the world. That is why international collaboration has become one of the most effective tools in the fight against corruption.
Two recent OCCRP articles on Worldclear provide an example of this work in practice. The first, Inside the Tiny New Zealand Firm that Transferred Millions for High-Risk Clients, examined Worldclear's role in facilitating transactions for high-risk clients. A follow-up article published in June, Leaked Files Raise Questions Over Millions Flowing to Belarusian Tycoon, explored documents suggesting connections between the company, a bank in Vanuatu, and transactions involving a sanctioned Belarusian oligarch.
Reporters found no evidence to show Worldclear knowingly facilitated criminal offending and Worldclear’s founder denied any wrongdoing by himself or the firm.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists that specialises in uncovering organised crime, corruption, money laundering, and hidden financial relationships. Through cross-border reporting and data-driven investigations, OCCRP has become one of the world's leading investigative journalism organisations.
The Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC) is a partnership between OCCRP and Transparency International that connects investigative journalism with anti-corruption advocacy. By bringing together journalists, civil society organisations, and legal experts, GACC helps ensure that evidence uncovered through reporting can contribute to accountability and reform.
Together, the articles illustrate the type of cross-border investigative reporting required to follow financial activity that spans multiple jurisdictions and legal systems.
