Follow the Money EU

Airlines worldwide are showing keen interest in Guyana. The reason? The country has become the first nation to receive approval to sell carbon credits to airlines under a U.N. scheme—helping them offset their emissions. But is the plan too good to be true? ftm.eu/articles/aviation-emi…

Starting a job at a company that borrows money from the bank you just left? At the European Investment Bank, that’s business as usual. Our analysis exposes the revolving door between the EIB and companies – and the conflicts of interest that come with it. ftm.eu/articles/the-revolvin…

The Commission has approved ex-Commissioner Mariya Gabriel's new job as president of the Robert Schuman Institute, the institute informed us. The decision did not reference the fact that she submitted her application late, as we revealed in our article.ftm.eu/articles/former-europ…

Governments are twisting international rules against dirty money to silence critics like NGOs or journalists. Weak oversight and vague rules make abuse easy. It’s most common in places with poor human rights records, but it doesn’t stop there… ftm.eu/articles/countries-ab…

With fake Tinder accounts, we managed to track the movements of hundreds of Western soldiers. How? Due to a design flaw in the dating app, it is surprisingly easy to follow them and obtain personal details about their lives – a goldmine for foreign spies. ftm.eu/articles/tinder-milit…

The EU promised a revolution: less red tape for companies. A pledge repeated for decades – but never actually delivered. Here are seven reasons why the EU can’t break free from its bureaucratic mess. ftm.eu/articles/why-the-eu-i…

Cover-ups, toxic favouritism, luxury cars... Europe’s biggest public bank is plagued by scandals. Our investigation into the European Investment Bank (EIB) reveals its dirtiest secrets – all under the reign of one man: former president Werner Hoyer. ftm.eu/articles/nepotism-eur…

And suddenly, Shell entered the manure business. The oil giant spent nearly €2 billion on a fertiliser company. But why on earth is Shell dealing with poop? Turns out it helps make its liquefied fossil gas look greener than it is – thanks to EU rules. ftm.eu/articles/how-shell-ma…

UPDATE: Fresh details are surfacing in the Didier Reynders money laundering case we uncovered this week. @RTBF reports that the former EU justice chief may have laundered around €1 million. ftm.eu/articles/reynders-mon…

SCOOP: Italian bank UniCredit is allegedly tied to a major money laundering scheme via its German branch. Authorities raided its Munich office on Friday in a probe into a multi-million VAT fraud. ftm.eu/articles/tax-fraud-mi…

Stellantis, the company that makes Jeep, Fiat and Citroën, was hit with massive fines in the US for using devices to trick emissions tests. Though charges were also filed in Europe, the company has quietly escaped prosecution. FTM found out what happened. ftm.eu/articles/jeep-car-mak…

Former EU justice chief Reynders is under investigation on suspicions of money laundering, FTM and Le Soir revealed yesterday. So far, both Reynders and prosecutors have remained tight-lipped. Here is the latest you need to know. ftm.eu/articles/reynders-mon…

SCOOP: Reynders was the EU justice chief until last Saturday – he is now under investigation for money laundering. For years, he allegedly bought lottery tickets with dubious money to launder the profits back into his account, FTM and Le Soir revealed. ftm.eu/articles/european-com…

European eels are an endangered species, yet fishing continues despite clear scientific advice to stop. Why? A lobby group claiming to protect eels seems more focused on safeguarding the industry – and seemingly convinced the EU to ease restrictions. ftm.eu/articles/how-industry…

Reynders was the EU’s Justice Commissioner until last Saturday – he is now under investigation for suspected money laundering, FTM and @lesoir revealed. For years, he allegedly used dubious money to buy lottery tickets from the National Lottery. ftm.eu/articles/european-com…

Former Commissioner Mariya Gabriel proudly shared on social media she started a new job but skipped one key step: the Commission’s approval to avoid conflicts of interest. She informed the Commission about it after we started asking questions. Coincidence? ftm.eu/articles/former-europ…

Prigozhin’s rebellion last year gripped the world. Weeks after his failed march on Moscow, the Wagner group leader was dead. In an interview with FTM, Kremlin expert Anna Arutunyan reveals his fate could still challenge Putin – even from beyond the grave. ftm.eu/articles/interview-an…

Today in court, the Commission admitted von der Leyen texted Pfizer’s CEO when negotiating a billion-euro vaccine deal during the pandemic. The catch? They didn’t archive the messages. Will we ever know what might have shaped Europe’s biggest vaccine deal? ftm.eu/articles/pfizergate-h…

Rising grocery bills? Missing products? Supermarkets often take the blame, but it’s not that simple. Our investigation reveals how Big Food producers are squeezing EU supermarkets – and your wallet. ftm.eu/articles/fmcg-compani…

Two Dutch trading firms have made big profits by helping companies and governments reach their climate goals. Their promise? To make the world a little greener. But our investigation reveals their methods may be less green and clean than claim. ftm.eu/articles/co2-trade-du…