Veteran journalists explained how an industry of enablers is supporting a growing group of kleptocracies and mafia states around the world, and that following the money is a great way to track them.
Following the publication of a report in this newspaper exposing how a number of Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai
Lavie Commercial Brokers, a firm behind a recent deal in Senegal, was set up by Aboubakar Hima, who has been accused of skimming off the top of inflated
Do You Know Where Your Grilling Charcoal Comes From?
Nigeria’s forests are being decimated to make charcoal for cookouts in Europe and the United States.
Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures/Redux
Charcoal production in Lagos, Nigeria
Two men dropped their tools and fled on foot from an
approaching motorbike. They abandoned their own motorcycle, yellow jugs of
water, two hoes, and several charred lumps of wood. Nearby, wisps of smoke leaked
from soil mounds. Further afield lay bare roots of freshly felled trees. They had
been making charcoal, the same way people have done for years, stretching back
into prehistory: Cut down trees; gather the logs and branches into piles; cover