64-673: VTDigger is an investigative online newspaper that reports on the state of Vermont in the United States . Founded in September 2009 by Anne Galloway, the newspaper has grown to have an average monthly audience of 650,000 and won numerous awards for its coverage of matters of statewide significance, including the flooding in July 2023. The digital news outlet is funded primarily through donations and philanthropy ($ 2.2 million in 2022), as well as through underwriting (business support). The VTDigger
128-447: A cyberattack in the previous year and denied the ICIJ's allegations. After media outlets started reporting on the documents, the company said there was "no evidence of wrongdoing", and they "are a law firm which advises clients on legitimate and lawful ways to conduct their business", and they "do not tolerate illegal behaviour". Appleby stated the firm "was not the subject of a leak but of
192-457: A 2013 US Senate investigation, which featured testimony by CEO Tim Cook , Ireland announced that henceforth Irish companies would be required to declare tax residency somewhere in the world. Apple had been paying a lower rate of corporate taxes in Ireland in a so-called sweetheart deal. This attracted the attention of EU regulators as many multinationals were doing the same thing. As the tax break in
256-503: A Bermudian subsidiary, Nike International Ltd. This transfer allowed the subsidiary to charge royalties to its European headquarters in Hilversum , Netherlands , effectively converting taxable company profits to an account payable in tax-free Bermuda. Although the subsidiary was effectively run by executives at Nike's main offices in Beaverton , Oregon – to the point where a duplicate of
320-579: A Brazilian conglomerate, and at least one of them was used as a vehicle for paying bribes in Operation Car Wash . Some of these offshore companies are publicly known to operate for Odebrecht in Africa and be involved in bribes. Among those involved in the operation who also are named in the papers are Marcelo Odebrecht , Brazilian businessman and former Odebrecht CEO, his father Emílio Odebrecht and his brother Maurício Odebrecht. Appleby and various banks in
384-449: A Glencore subsidiary of deducting from its taxes "fictitious" payments to other Glencore subsidiaries, and of selling the zinc from its mine (to another Glencore company) in unrefined form to minimize its revenue. Its CEO told shareholders before this that it expected a spike in demand, which did materialize. The mine is owned by Nantou Mining SA, which is owned by Merope Inc, a Bermuda shell company set up by Appleby with directors provided by
448-678: A case study about VTDigger titled "VTDigger: A Rising Star in Nonprofit News," which details the birth and rise of VTDigger and the role of Anne Galloway in this effort. In May 2018, according to the Institute for Nonprofit News , the VTDigger was averaging 300,000 monthly users with "a staff of 19 full-time employees, and an annual budget over $ 1.5 million". VTDigger is often referenced in the Burlington Free Press for breaking stories, such as
512-501: A company in the Isle of Man to hold the registration for his private jet, according to Appleby documents. Mahama, the CEO of Engineers & Planners Company Limited, is also under investigation for allegedly issuing bad checks. In 2016, Ghanaian authorities took his company to court for allegedly not making social security payments. The case was later settled. Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta
576-529: A report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting". Most investigative journalism has traditionally been conducted by newspapers, wire services , and freelance journalists. With the decline in income through advertising, many traditional news services have struggled to fund investigative journalism, due to it being very time-consuming and expensive. Journalistic investigations are increasingly carried out by news organizations working together, even internationally (as in
640-525: A secret, and that although the subsidiary's annual report showed revenues of $ 1.9 billion in 2014, Glencore did not mention the subsidiary in its disclosures to the London Stock Exchange or in any other public filing because, it said, it did not consider this a significant investment. The Australian branch of Glencore has been demonstrated to have carried out some $ 25 billion in cross-currency interest rate swaps , complex financial instruments
704-554: A serious criminal act", and "this was an illegal computer hack". The company added: "Our systems were accessed by an intruder who deployed the tactics of a professional hacker". The documents were acquired by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung , which had also obtained the Panama Papers in 2016. According to the BBC , the name "Paradise Papers" reflects "the idyllic profiles of many of
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#1732876393771768-563: A set of over 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer , from the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung . The newspaper shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists , and a network of more than 380 journalists. Some of the details were made public on 5 November 2017 and stories are still being released . The documents originate from
832-409: A settlement on 31 July 2012. The Stars Group along with its former member of board of directors Wesley Clark and former CEO David Baazov also did business with Appleby. In March 2016, David Baazov and other executives were charged by Canadian regulators with multiple securities fraud charges related to the acquisition of PokerStars. Saadi Yacef , freedom fighter, author, and politician, appears in
896-555: A statement regarding Apple on 7 November 2017. The JFSC confirmed that the two Apple subsidiaries referred to by the media are not Jersey-registered companies and their understanding is that Apple funds relating to these entities have not been remitted to or held in the Island. The JFSC states that it has not seen any of the documentation that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) claims to hold following
960-489: A tax incentive known as a capital allowance, which gives Irish companies generous tax breaks for buying intangible property – essentially intellectual property like patents. In other words, Apple (some suggest) transferred them to a subsidiary located in Ireland for the tax incentives, and didn't have to pay any tax on the transaction in Bermuda either, on the value it declared on the property when it sold them to itself. Following
1024-566: A trust which holds the Seychelles -based Katonga Investments Ltd. Katonga gave as its source of income Enhas Uganda, another Kutesa-owned company criticized in a parliamentary committee as part of a privatization it said had been "manipulated and taken advantage of by a few politically powerful people who sacrifice the people's interests". Kutesa was also president of the United Nations General Assembly in 2014–2015. Kutesa told
1088-605: Is called investigative journalism and is distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors, and regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded and closely connected to publicity." Early newspapers in British colonial America were often suppressed by the authorities for their investigative journalism. Examples include Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick and Benjamin Franklin's New England Courant . Journalists who reported on
1152-545: Is frequently cited as a media example. Irish companies are required to pay taxes in Ireland, but if they convince authorities that they are "managed and controlled" from abroad, the companies may win an exemption. As of November 2017, Apple held $ 252 billion offshore. However, Apple has previously publicly stated that it reinvests post-tax earnings (generated outside the US) into the global economy via investment funds held offshore. Germán Efromovich , founder of Synergy Group ,
1216-468: Is linked to an offshore conglomerate used for the aerocommercial holding business with ramifications in Bermuda, Panama, and Cyprus. Efromovich used a Panamanian offshore that hid more than 20 firms located in tax havens. The conglomerate was used by Synergy Group's subsidiary Avianca Holdings in the purchase of MacAir Jet, now Avianca Argentina , an aircraft company owned by Macri Group, for an amount of $ 10 million, allowing Avianca to make headway in
1280-435: Is listed in the papers. India ranks 19th out of the 180 countries represented in the data in terms of the number of names. In all, there are 714 Indians in the tally, including noted political leaders like Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha , notable names like actor Amitabh Bachchan (a shareholder in a Bermuda-based digital media company), Dr Ranjan Pai of Manipal Group, former Member of Parliament of
1344-527: Is one of the largest cases of financial fraud in history. Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is listed in the papers, having set up a trust called the Antarctic Trust owned by a Delaware corporation . Aziz, a former Citibank executive, told the ICIJ he had set the trust up for estate planning purposes and that the funds had come from his employment at Citibank. An internal Appleby document raised concerns about warrants issued for him in connection with
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#17328763937711408-585: The Daily Monitor he had never done anything with the company. President Ilham Aliyev and his family were involved in offshore dealings according to the leaked documents. The Panama Papers allegedly revealed that the Aliyev family had secret offshore companies used for various financial transactions, including the ownership of luxury properties and involvement in lucrative business deals. Jim Watkins , owner of known Neo-Nazi recruitment image board 8Chan ,
1472-498: The ACLU 's attempt to get information from a Vermont town about an alleged racial profiling incident suggests that accepting the help of the ACLU to investigate the incident may have placed the VTDigger in a conflict of interest with journalistic objectivity. The relationship between the VTDigger and ACLU on this case is mentioned again in a Burlington Free Press article about the ACLU's request to
1536-625: The Australian Taxation Office suspects of being used to avoid paying taxes in Australia. The Australian High Court recently held that documents revealed in the Paradise Papers leak could be used by the Australian Taxation Office to assess Glencore's tax obligations, despite legal privilege. Appleby documents detail how Nike boosted its after-tax profits by, among other maneuvers, transferring ownership of its Swoosh trademark to
1600-514: The Center for Public Integrity which includes 165 investigative reporters in over 65 countries working collaboratively on crime, corruption, and abuse of power at a global level, under Gerard Ryle as Director. Working with major media outlets globally, they have exposed organised crime, international tobacco companies, private military cartels, asbestos companies, climate change lobbyists, details of Iraq and Afghanistan war contracts, and most recently
1664-673: The Democratic Republic of Congo in negotiations over a joint venture with state-owned Gécamines at the Katanga copper mine . One of the Katanga board members was Glencore major shareholder Telis Mistakidis , a former employee whose stock options made him a billionaire in the IPO. Glencore, which had effectively taken over Katanga, agreed to vote for the joint venture. The loan document specifically provided that repayment would be owed if agreement
1728-478: The Isle of Man , including Conister Bank , owned by Arron Banks and Jim Mellon , did business with PokerStars and its founders, Mark Scheinberg and his father Isai Scheinberg , until it was sold for $ 4.9 billion in 2014 to The Stars Group , formerly known as Amaya. PokerStars and its founders were pursued by the US Department of Justice for allegedly money laundering billions until they negotiated
1792-535: The Panama Papers and Paradise Papers . The investigative Commons center opened in Berlin , Germany in 2021 and houses the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights , Forensic Architecture , and Bellingcat . An investigative reporter may make use of one or more of these tools, among others, on a single story: Organizations, Publications and People Paradise Papers The Paradise Papers are
1856-643: The Russian military intervention in Crimea , but DST Global had by then sold its stake in Twitter. Four days after the Facebook IPO , a DST Global subsidiary sold more than 27 million shares of Facebook for approximately $ 1 billion. In 2009, Glencore , an Anglo–Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company, loaned $ 45 million to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler in exchange for his help with officials of
1920-653: The low-cost carrier business in Argentina. The Argentine government accepted the offshores as a financial guarantee to assign air routes to Avianca. The whole operation of assigning air routes was investigated by the Argentine federal justice system in a case called "Avianca" in which the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri and other officials were imputed. A Russia-owned firm , VTB Bank , put $ 191 million into DST Global , an investment firm part of Mail.ru Group and
1984-739: The Appleby data breach. If the ICIJ possesses data of a criminal or regulatory nature which relates to business activities in Jersey then the JFSC requested that this information be shared with them and, if there is any evidence of regulatory wrongdoing, they would then investigate and take action if appropriate. The Government of Jersey (States of Jersey) also issued a statement of similar effect on 7 November 2017. The jurisdiction of Jersey has recently been independently assessed as fully compliant with international regulatory guidelines on tax transparency. The EU, under
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2048-604: The Bermudian company's seal was needed – for tax purposes the subsidiary was treated as based in Bermuda. Its profits were not declared in Europe and came to light only because of a mostly unrelated case in US Tax Court , where papers filed by Nike briefly mention royalties in 2010, 2011 and 2012 totaling $ 3.86 billion. Under an arrangement with Dutch authorities, the tax break was to expire in 2014, so another reorganization transferred
2112-493: The Government of India identified undeclared assets worth of about ₹ 246 crore (equivalent to ₹ 276 crore or US$ 33 million in 2023) following the investigation. Two children of deceased former president and dictator Suharto , Tommy and Mamiek , in addition to opposition party leader Prabowo Subianto (Suharto's former son-in-law) and businessman-turned-opposition politician Sandiaga Uno , are listed in
2176-581: The Netherlands came to a scheduled end, Apple's law firm, Baker McKenzie , researched island tax havens, asking Appleby officials in numerous jurisdictions to confirm "that an Irish company can conduct management activities ... without being subject to taxation in your jurisdiction." Two of the subsidiaries moved to Jersey and took intellectual property with them. The third is receiving tax breaks in Ireland for buying Apple IP from another Apple subsidiary. The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) issued
2240-559: The Papers in connection with a trust in the Cayman Islands, along with a former energy minister, the family of a former foreign minister and their South Pacific holdings. An opposition party, UNITA , called for an investigation into alleged diversions from the country's sovereign wealth fund . Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais , a close associate of the son of former long-term president José Eduardo dos Santos , has invested over $ 2 billion from
2304-545: The Rajya Sabha and Vijay Mallya , an Indian fugitive former businessman and politician . The papers revealed that Mallya sold United Spirits to Diageo in 2013, which it later approached London-based law firm Linklaters to restructuring the group structure created by Mallya. With three other subsidiaries based in the UK, United Spirits was allegedly involved with diverting funds amounting to $ 1.5 billion. By July 2021,
2368-458: The VT Supreme Court to release the documents related to the incident. Investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice , political corruption , or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing
2432-533: The budgets for investigative journalism. A 2002 study concluded "that investigative journalism has all but disappeared from the nation's commercial airwaves." Non-commercial journalism has increasingly stepped-up to work on this growing need for in-depth investigations and reporting. One of the largest teams of investigative journalists is the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) launched in 1997 by
2496-412: The case of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers ), or by nonprofit outlets such as ProPublica , which rely on the support of the public and benefactors to fund their work. University of Missouri journalism professor Steve Weinberg defined investigative journalism as: "Reporting, through one's own initiative and work product, matters of importance to readers, viewers, or listeners." In many cases,
2560-425: The company's intangible property was exposed around the time of an internal Apple Inc. reorganization of three Irish subsidiaries. The company's 2015 gross domestic product showed a 26% increase, and close to $ 270 billion of intangible assets suddenly appeared in Ireland as the year began – more than the entire value of all residential property in the country. This may indicate that Apple took advantage of
2624-649: The corporations that own offshore companies . According to The Express Tribune , "Apple, Nike, and Facebook avoided billions of dollars in tax using offshore companies." Among the Indian companies listed in the papers are Apollo Tyres , the Essel Group , D S Construction, Emaar MGF , GMR Group , Havells , Hinduja Group , the Hiranandani Group , Jindal Steel , the Sun Group and Videocon . A great deal of
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2688-653: The country's sovereign wealth fund in Mauritius, according to Appleby documents. In a 20-month period he was paid over $ 41 million in management fees, and invested much of the money in his own projects. The Supreme Court of Mauritius later froze 91 bank accounts associated with Bastos as part of an inquiry into his investments for the Angolan sovereign wealth fund, and suspended the licenses of seven investment companies linked to Bastos' Quantum Global. Ibrahim Mahama , brother of former president of Ghana John Mahama , registered
2752-559: The data available to these media partners using Neo4j , a graph-database platform made for connected data, and Linkurious , graph-visualization software. This allowed journalists across the globe to undertake collaborative investigative work. The documents were released by the consortium on 5 November 2017. According to the papers, Allergan (the manufacturer of Botox ), Allianz , Apple Inc. , Facebook , Global Vantedge , McDonald's , Nike, Inc. , Siemens , The Walt Disney Company , Twitter , Uber , Walmart , and Yahoo! are among
2816-554: The doings of the British authorities would later contribute to revolutionary sentiment in the run-up to the American Revolution ; one prominent example was the Boston Gazette , contributed to by Samuel Adams among others. American journalism textbooks point out that muckraking standards promoted by McClure's Magazine around 1902, "Have become integral to the character of modern investigative journalism." Furthermore,
2880-716: The firm. Glencore sold Merope in April 2017 but before that it was 100% owned by Glencore Finance (Bermuda) Ltd, which was, according to a document from the Paradise Papers leaks, 100% owned by Glencore Group Funding Ltd of the United Arab Emirates , an entity in turn 100% owned by Swiss firm Glencore International AG, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore plc, registered in Jersey . Documents were also discovered discussing Glencore's desire to keep its substantial stake in SwissMarine
2944-548: The intellectual property from the Bermudian company to a Dutch commanditaire vennootschap or limited partnership, Nike Innovate CV. Dutch law treats income earned by a CV as if it had been earned by the principals, who owe no tax in the Netherlands if they do not reside there. One in six dollars of foreign profit earned by US multinationals was earned, at least on paper, through a Dutch CV subsidiary. Companies with similar structures include Tesla, Inc. , NetApp and Uber . Appleby managed 17 offshore companies for Odebrecht ,
3008-624: The killing of a local leader. Aziz dismissed both the murder charge and the allegations of financial impropriety. Alfred Gusenbauer was head of the Social Democratic Party of Austria from 2000 to 2008 and Austria's chancellor from January 2007 to December 2008. He is listed as a director for Novia Management, a Maltese company listed as a shareholder in Novia Funds Sicav Plc, also Malta -based, which includes among its other shareholders Tal Silberstein [ de ] , who
3072-446: The leadership of Jean-Claude Juncker , threatened to sue Ireland over its tax deals, although Juncker himself had approved similar tax deals in his own country, Luxembourg . Apple paid all of its taxes in Ireland as required by that country, so Ireland is appealing the EU decision. HP, Nike, Microsoft and others use the same tax arrangements in Ireland, Luxembourg and other countries, but Apple
3136-517: The legal firm Appleby , the corporate services providers Estera and Asiaciti Trust , and business registries in 19 tax jurisdictions. They contain the names of more than 120,000 people and companies. Among those whose financial affairs are mentioned are, separately, AIG , then- Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II , President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos , and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross . The released information resulted in scandal, litigation, and loss of position for some of
3200-406: The named, as well as litigation against the media and journalists who published the papers. On 20 October 2017, an anonymous Reddit user hinted at the existence of the Paradise Papers. Later that month, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) approached the offshore law firm Appleby with allegations of wrongdoing. Appleby said that some of its data had been stolen in
3264-450: The offshore jurisdictions whose workings are unveiled", so-called tax havens , or "tax paradises". The data breach comprises some 13.4 million documents—totaling about 1.4 terabytes—from two offshore service providers, Appleby and Asiaciti Trust , and from the company registers of 19 tax havens. Süddeutsche Zeitung journalists contacted the ICIJ, which has been investigating the documents with 100 media partners. The consortium made
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#17328763937713328-565: The oil industry, a sector in which Hoifu planned to expand. The principal shareholder of the company was Hui Chi Ming. Neil Bush , brother of George W. Bush , was a director (deputy chairman) of the company. Former Minister of Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev is listed as an original shareholder of Meridian Capital Ltd. Former BTA Bank Chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov is documented for his ownership of Cayman Island-registered CFJ Star Trust, which may have been used in his alleged embezzlement and mismanagement of $ 10 billion of BTA money. The embezzlement
3392-481: The papers as a director of the Bermuda company Songhai Financial Holdings Ltd. a subsidiary of Databank's finance, fund management and investment company Databank Brokerage Ltd., from April 2001 until September 2012. The Ghanaian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta , was a co-founder of Databank and a co-director, with Johnson Sirleaf, of Songhai Financial Holdings. Aliko Dangote , then Africa's richest man with an estimated wealth of 12.1 billion,
3456-472: The papers. The Directorate General of Taxes released a statement that they will follow up the information provided on Indonesian taxpayers. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is listed in the papers. The Bermuda-incorporated company, Hoifu Energy Group , is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and appointed Hatoyama honorary chairman in 2013 because of his "amicable relationship" with
3520-450: The report of the testimony of a former Burlington College trustee before a federal grand jury about the involvement of Senator Bernie Sanders ' wife, Dr. Jane Sanders , in the sale of property while she was president of Burlington College . The Burlington Free Press credited VTDigger for breaking the news of the testimony. VTDigger's coverage was also picked up in newspapers across the country. A 2010 Burlington Free Press article about
3584-507: The subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed. There are currently university departments for teaching investigative journalism. Conferences are conducted presenting peer-reviewed research into investigative journalism. British media theorist Hugo de Burgh (2000) states that: "An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available. The act of doing this generally
3648-540: The successes of the early muckrakers continued to inspire journalists. The outlook for investigative journalism in the United States was improved by the 1960s with the Freedom of Information Act and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan . The invention of the photocopier also offered an assistive tool to whistleblowers . The growth of media conglomerates in the U.S. since the 1980s has been accompanied by massive cuts in
3712-718: The unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic with relative success. Mark Shanahan wrote a feature about VTDigger as a model news organization for the front page of the Boston Globe. Local Independent Online News Publishers awareded VTDigger as the co-winner for the 2023 Public Service Award (Large Revenue Tier). The Institute for Nonprofit News and the Single Subject News Project at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy published
3776-520: Was founded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner , which used it to buy a large share of Twitter in 2011. A subsidiary of the Kremlin-controlled Gazprom funded an investment company that partnered with DST Global to buy shares in Facebook , reaping millions when the social media giant went public in 2012. Twitter similarly went public in 2013. The US government sanctioned VTB in 2014 because of
3840-496: Was founded in September 2009 by Anne Galloway, with a focus on the politics, economy, environment, education, culture, and public policy of Vermont. In 2010, VTDigger merged with the nonprofit Vermont Journalism Trust. As part of the Trust, a substantial portion of support comes from the general public, foundations and businesses, including sponsors, gifts, and organization membership. During her tenure as executive director, Anne Galloway
3904-451: Was identified as a co-director of an offshore company with outgoing president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf . Sally Kosgei , member of parliament 2008–2013 and minister of agriculture 2010 to March 2013, owned a million-dollar flat near Harrods in London through an offshore she told Appleby was funded by her flower-export company. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is listed in
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#17328763937713968-617: Was linked to shell companies residing in tax havens by the Paradise Papers and, previously, by the Panama Papers , then, subsequently, by the Pandora Papers . President of the Nigerian Senate Bukola Saraki is listed in the papers as a director and a shareholder of Tenia Ltd., a company established in the Cayman Islands in April 2001. Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa is listed as beneficiary, along with his daughter, of
4032-536: Was nominated for the "Vermonter of the Year Award" by The Burlington Free Press in 2016. In 2018, she reported total compensation of $ 64,519 from VTDigger. In May 2022, Galloway stepped down and assumed the role of editor-at-large . The newspaper receives support from the American Journalism Project. The New York Times commended VTDigger for building strong social trust which has helped Vermont meet
4096-683: Was not reached within three months. Gertler and Glencore each have denied wrongdoing. Appleby had worked for Glencore and its founder Marc Rich on major projects in the past, even after his indictment in 1983. Rich was indicted in the United States on federal charges of tax evasion and making controversial oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis . He received a controversial presidential pardon from U.S. President Bill Clinton on 20 January 2001, Clinton's last day in office. A separate ICIJ project found that tax auditors in Burkina Faso accused
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