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Reposted by Simon Lock

Drew Sullivan - OCCRP @drewoccrp.bsky.social · 23d

Nice work by TBIJ on Carter-Ruck, a scumbag law firm always willing to help organized crime try to shut down journalism, or in this case, criminals to perpetuate a scam. These firms are not acting in the public interest. They should be made to pay restitution to any victims harmed in this case.

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: Britain’s fiercest libel firm, Carter-Ruck, acted for the $4bn OneCoin fraud and threatened its critics. Now they’re being prosecuted at the SDT.

Their response? An anonymity order to cover it up. But Carter-Ruck just lost that order - and it's all coming out.

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Reposted by Simon Lock

Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 29d

I've been considering whether to do this for months.

Now that Radiohead tickets are being offered for huge mark-ups on resale sites (as per our story today), I think the time has come.

We're going to play a game of Catch The Ticket Tout. 🧵

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Radiohead condemn ‘exploitative’ touts and resale sites ahead of tour

Band urges fans to avoid secondary sites, where more than 1,000 potentially fraudulent tickets for their shows have been found

www.theguardian.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 11

We also reported on the scale of Abramovich's involvement in third party ownership, many of whom were minors when they signed the deals:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

‘I worked for Abramovich?’: footballers were owned by oligarch via…

Former Chelsea owner locked young players across Europe into contentious third-party contracts

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 11

This follows our investigation in 2023 which found an array of opaque offshore payments involving Abramovich-owned companies which would routed away from Chelsea:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Abramovich’s hidden football deals during Chelsea’s time at the top

Offshore deals with key figures were not recorded in Chelsea’s accounts, despite potentially benefiting the club

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 11

The FA has brought 74 charges against Chelsea FC for a wide array of breaches between 2009 and 2022 - when a certain Roman Abramovich was in charge.

Breaches include transactions with intermediaries and third party investments.

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 8

TBF, Danegeld does sound like a very Truss policy. Levy huge sums to pay to another kingdom to try and stop people coming over, and then they come anyway.

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Reposted by Simon Lock

Hannah Summers @hansummers.bsky.social · Sep 4

📢 Mentoring: At @tbij.bsky.social we are launching a mentorship programme open to both staff and freelance journalists interested in gaining experience and guidance on reporting on the family courts. Full details here 👉 tinyurl.com/42xdkk5b

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 4

Reminded of that time I submitted an FOI to the FCA for a copy of a contract they entered with a PR firm.

They refused on "commercial sensitivity" grounds, I appealed saying they could redact some bits.

They agreed and sent me this....

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Sep 1

Someone's really got a Bede in their bonnet about this.

Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · Sep 1

Oh god I’m going to have medievalists popping up in my mentions arguing over when England formed now. I don’t care about your Heptarchy, mate, do one.

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Aug 8

A cautionary tale for the world of football finance.

Vitesse's meteoric rise and crashing fall all stemmed from its 2010 takeover, when the club began receiving millions from Roman Abramovich through a complex network of offshore loans.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Roman Abramovich bankrolled major Dutch club while Chelsea owner

Leaked documents appear to show that the Russian oligarch funded acquisition of Vitesse Arnhem via network of offshore entities and funnelled millions to…

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Aug 8

Just over a year since this excellent piece by @jacobsteinberg1.bsky.social and its only become truer.

Vitesse has now had its licence revoked (a decision upheld by the Dutch courts), it can no longer play in professional leagues and may cease to exist.

www.theguardian.com/football/art...

Geopolitics comes to Vitesse: how ‘Chelsea B’ were swallowed by Abramovich associates | Jacob Steinberg

Fans of the Eredivisie club hoped takeovers would transform their fortunes, but instead they face an existential threat to their future

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Simon Lock

Ed Siddons @edsiddons.bsky.social · Aug 6

The original story, a 5,000 word deep dive on the "most feared" libel firm in the UK is here: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Anyway, if you like the work, become a member today – TBIJ relies on donations and even small amounts go a long way: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/support-us

Britain’s fiercest libel firm can pursue anyone, anywhere

The government is trying to rein in firms like Carter-Ruck. It’s not easy

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Aug 6

Vile firm reaps what it sows.

Interesting update from SRA which comes off the back of Ed's mammoth piece on Carter Ruck back in 2023....

Ed Siddons @edsiddons.bsky.social · Aug 6

NEW: The legal regulator has announced that it is prosecuting a senior lawyer at libel firm Carter-Ruck for an “improper” threat to sue.

The complaint to the regulator was filed after our @tbij.bsky.social & @economist.com longread on the firm.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Carter-Ruck partner prosecuted for ‘improper’ threat to sue

Claire Gill understood to be facing tribunal over letter attempting to silence victim of a huge fraud scheme, as reported by TBIJ

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

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Reposted by Simon Lock

Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · Aug 6

not a violin in the world small enough

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Reposted by Simon Lock

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism @tbij.bsky.social · Jun 27

NEW: Fake QR codes that trick people into handing over their card details have swept through public parking sites in the UK

John is one of the hundreds of people who’ve been targeted by one of these so-called “quishing” scams (footage from @itvnews.bsky.social)

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Jun 16

Unless they're Legoland

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Apr 17

Latest investigation from my esteemed colleague @edsiddons.bsky.social - give it a read...

Ed Siddons @edsiddons.bsky.social · Apr 17

NEW: Queen Elizabeth’s private solicitor spent eight years helping to manage the offshore wealth of an alleged war criminal, Rifaat Al-Assad, the "butcher of Hama" and uncle of Bashar.

Via @tbij.bsky.social & @theguardian.com

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Queen’s lawyer helped manage millions for Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of…

Mark Bridges worked for ‘butcher of Hama’ while advising the British monarch

www.thebureauinvestigates.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Apr 7

Can you do Maidenhead Golf Course next - "green lung" of Berkshire apparently, despite being surrounded on all sides by countryside...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Local council to bulldoze beloved golf course and build 1,500 homes

Maidenhead locals are at risk of losing their beloved town's 132-acre golf course, which is set to be demolished and replaced with 1,500 homes, two schools and shops.

www.dailymail.co.uk

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Mar 19

Kakistocracy manifest.

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · Mar 19

'A Catastrophic Blow' As US Shuts Unit Investigating War Crimes In Ukraine www.rferl.org/a/yale-ukrai...

Exclusive: 'A Catastrophic Blow' As US Shuts Unit Investigating War Crimes In Ukraine

The US State Department has delivered “a catastrophic blow” to efforts to document Russian war crimes, says the head of a Yale University investigative team that will close down after losing its fundi...

www.rferl.org

Reposted by Simon Lock

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · Mar 18

mRNA vaccines are legit a near-miracle tech, there's one in testing that might be able to cure pancreatic cancer, and this fucking degenerate might take them from us arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

Report: mRNA vaccines are in RFK Jr’s crosshairs; funding in question

“Kennedy’s war on vaccines has started,” one researcher said.

arstechnica.com

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Mar 6

David Cameron and the pig thing. Classic of the "I want to believe it so it's true" genre

Reposted by Simon Lock

News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · Feb 28

The scenes in the Oval Office today will shame the US for decades. They’ll never be forgotten.

A world leader, fighting for his country against the 21st century’s Nazis, came to the US and was attacked & abused by a gangster regime siding with the fascist invaders.

A historic disgrace.

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Feb 27

Oh look, an even newer low.

Michael Colborne @colborne.bsky.social · Feb 27

"There was clearly enormous pressure on us from the US government to allow the Tate brothers to leave Romanian territory," sources close to the investigation told the BBC. bsky.app/profile/mirc...

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Feb 26

Every day they reach new lows...

Fjord Fella 🇺🇦🇳🇴🐾 @fjordfella.bsky.social · Feb 26

👀 Jesus! The Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee, Feinberg, is not willing to say that russia invaded UKR. America has fallen and is now a vassal state of russia... RIP 🪦

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Simon Lock @simonlock.bsky.social · Feb 24

Not even asteroids want anything to do with us

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Feb 24

Chance of giant asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 falls to 0.0017%

Asteroid 2024 YR4 had reached a 3.1% likelihood of impact but further data has rendered it negligible It was a discovery that lead to panic-inducing headlines: a giant asteroid found to be hurtling towards Earth that, while unlikely to wipe out life,…

www.theguardian.com

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