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Welcome to Europe Uncovered, the newsletter that delivers you the week’s most hard-hitting investigative journalism from across the continent.
Coming up this week:
- The Tony Blair Institute (successfully?) lobbied the EU to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
- A Vienna supermarket deal linked to the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader and the risks of regime-connected investment in Europe
- A swiss bank kept a convicted sex trafficker as a client despite major red flags
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Under the spotlight
Photo: The White House / Daniel Torok (public domain)
An internal document obtained by Follow the Money revealed that lobbyists from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) privately urged the European Commission to join the Board of Peace (BoP), a Gaza-focused diplomatic initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite major EU concerns and “serious doubts” raised by Council President António Costa about joining, the Commission confirmed the day after our story was published that Commissioner Dubravka Šuica would attend a BoP meeting in Washington last Thursday. TBI rejected our claims of lobbying, describing its involvement as policy dialogue.
🔍 What it uncovers: the role of private lobbying networks in influencing EU foreign policy decisions behind closed doors.
🤝 With nods to: Democracy for Sale & Lighthouse Reports who supported our reporting
🇮🇷🏪The son of Iranian revolutionary leader Khamenei was apparently planning a multi-million dollar deal in ViennaDER Standard | 18.2.26
According to Der STANDARD, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader, was close to acquiring the Vienna-based company Blue River in 2024. Until that point, Blue River held the license to operate Spar supermarkets within Iran. Previous investigations suggested the international franchise was used to help members of Iran’s ruling elite secure visas and explore financial channels linked to Tehran, raising questions about how European companies can be used to access Western markets despite geopolitical scrutiny. The deal ultimately fell through in December 2024, when Spar International revoked Blue River’s licence following critical media coverage.
🔍 What it uncovers: Austria remains a key hub for business dealings linked to Iran’s political elite.
🤝 With nods to: Der STANDARD, building on prior reporting by Bloomberg and De Volkskrant
👩⚕️💰One in seven municipalities in Europe is too expensive for caregiversCorrectiv.Europe | 17.2.26
An analysis by Correctiv.Europe revealed the extent of the housing shortage across the EU at the local level – using the example of nursing professionals. In more than 15% of locations in the EU, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland, the average salary of nursing professionals is insufficient to rent or buy a 45 m² apartment. Their research focused on people in systemically important professions as a barometer, highlighting those essential to community functioning who are increasingly priced out of living there.
🔍What it uncovers: more than a third of people in the EU live in areas where those who care for them cannot afford to live themselves.
🤝With nods to: the ESPON House4All research project
DanWatch discovered that Mowi, a salmon supplier to Danish supermarkets, used a drug without a legal prescription when a million salmon were infected by the parasite Costia. The parasite causes heavy mucus production and damage to the fish’s skin and gills. Research suggests the drug can increase the risk of diseases and parasites being transferred from older to younger fish. Mowi has admitted to violating the rules.
🇻🇪💰 How dozens of tons of Venezuelan gold ended up in Europe
IRPI Media uncovered the workings of a supply chain that moved more than 70 tons of gold, largely from Venezuela, to European refineries between 2012 and 2018. Much of it was labelled as “scrap” or recycled metal, allowing traders to bypass stricter controls applied to newly mined gold. Once refined in Switzerland and Italy, the gold entered global supply chains used by the jewellery sector and major tech companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia. Internal documents suggest the metal may have originated from violent and environmentally destructive mining operations in Venezuela.
🇨🇭🏦 Swiss bank kept Ghislaine Maxwell as a client despite arrest and major red flags
Swiss bank UBS kept convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell as a client until after her arrest in July 2020 – despite her long-standing association with Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by Paper Trail Media and Tages-Anzeiger. A report filed with U.S. authorities showed that UBS managed up to $19 million for Maxwell between 2014 and 2020 and flagged 29 transactions worth about $18.3 million as potentially suspicious. The accounts were opened after JPMorgan had cut ties with Epstein and Maxwell, raising questions about how major banks handle high-risk clients.
Before Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán dismantled Hungary’s independent press, before media tycoons conglomerated power across Europe, there was a chance to stop it all. Our podcast goes behind the scenes of an investigation that found secret letters and lobbying that killed a plan to protect Europe’s media.
