Simon Lock

NEW: Cypriot police have commenced an investigation following @tbij.bsky.social's investigation into systemic backdating at Deloitte Cyprus and its spinoff MeritServus on behalf of their client, Roman Abramovich.

thebureauinvestigates.comDeloitte's Abramovich work under investigation by Cyprus policeNews comes after our revelations that the Big Four firm faked documents to help Roman Abramovich conceal his fortune

Read our story on it here: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

thebureauinvestigates.comDeloitte helped Abramovich hide $10bn by faking documentsThe Big Four firm spent years fabricating corporate papers that helped the sanctioned oligarch conceal assets and dodge tax

Read our investigation here - done in partnership with BBC Panorama, The Guardian and OCCRP: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

It sits above my desk - an excellent read.

Richard Brooks@rbrooks45.bsky.social

In the wake of the Deloitte/Abramovich revelations, here’s a plug for my 2018 book on how the Big 4 accountancy firms corrupted their profession…

private-eye.co.ukSpecial Report: Looting With PutinIn the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack, MPs investigating how Russian president Vladimir Putin and allies have been “hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London” concluded it was sti...

See also Richards' "Looting with Putin" special report which provides a brilliant overview of the Big Four's shameless dealings in the 90s/00s. www.private-eye.co.uk/special-repo...

My latest on Roman Abramovich, and how his hidden web of offshore companies dodged tax and concealed assets - all with the help of the Big Four's Deloitte: Findings include: Backdated trust agreements to make $2bn of interest-earning cash appear to belong to another (BVI) company, escaping tax.

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Also, sham consultancy agreements were used to extract about $98m for Abramovich, who personally signed the documents. Read more here: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Done in partnership with BBC Panorama, @byrobdavies.bsky.social of the Guardian, and OCCRP. All this was part of the Cyprus Confidential project, co-led by ICIJ and Paper-Trail Media, based on documents first shared by Distributed Denial of Secrets.

Around $600m of luxury assets, including a French château and a superyacht, vanished from one company’s accounts via retroactive transfers, avoiding disclosure. An identically named British Virgin Islands company was swapped in for a Cypriot holding company, moving over $10bn of assets on paper.

It's what he would have wanted *sniff*

theguardian.comChelsea FC face new questions over how Roman Abramovich funded successLeaked files reveal secret payments that may have breached football’s strict ‘financial fair play’ rules

This is some of the "self-reporting" that Chelsea did - taking a request for comment from The Guardian and TBIJ and forwarding it on to the FA....

Rob Davies@byrobdavies.bsky.social

Getting a bit sick of the narrative that Chelsea FC received a lenient punishment because they self-reported. Many of the offshore payments exposed by the Guardian and media partners were not self-reported (possibly because the new owners didn't know, although we can't be sure of that).

ft.trib.alOpenAI joins call for US-led global AI standardsChief executive Sam Altman will brief the UN Security Council this week following outcry over safety concerns

21 Sept

This is going to be like the "World Series" of baseball isn't it.

Financial Times@financialtimes.com

OpenAI joins call for US-led global AI standards ft.trib.al/yojKN1U

law360.comBREAKING: Carter-Ruck Wins Battle To Shield Privileged Docs From SRA Probes - Law360 UKThe Solicitors Regulation Authority cannot compel law firms to disclose documents protected by clients' legal professional privilege during misconduct investigations, a London judge ruled Monday, pote...

21 Sept

So in other words, law firms are essentially now in charge of marking their own homework - and no one else can check it. Forget toothless, the SRA has essentially had its entire lower jaw removed. www.law360.com/articles/252...

Simon Lock reposted

Jim Pickard

@pickardje.bsky.social

18 Sept

my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...

Simon Lock reposted

Rob Davies

@byrobdavies.bsky.social

27 Aug

Chelsea in Honest deal shock.

Fabrizio Romano (MIRROR)@fabrizioromano.yopro20.com

🚨🔵 Chelsea are in advanced talks over €40m deal for Honest Ahanor from Atalanta. Understand the agreement for 18 year old defender would include joining a Premier League club this summer in order to develop and then join #CFC in June 2027. Honest already said yes to Chelsea.

theguardian.comChelsea fined £10m and given suspended transfer ban by FA over agent breachesThe club escaped a suspended six-point deduction for the infringements after appealing against the original punishment.

31 July

I worked on the original investigation with @byrobdavies.bsky.social and others. I think it's hard to understate just how far the rot spreads. Abramovich took over Chelsea in July 2003. The first football agreements routed offshore via BVI companies (for "scouting services") began within 4 months!

Rob Davies@byrobdavies.bsky.social

Well, the final whistle on Chelsea FC's financial cheating under Abramovich seems to have blown. The Guardian and our reporting partners practically put it on a plate for the FA and Premier League. They blazed it over the bar. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

31 July

In the files are payments to football scouts via BVI (sometimes multiple overlapping contracts for the same services); fake consulting agreements to disguise player signings; £ms secretly siphoned to clubs like Vitesse through "loan agreements" + dozens of TPO deals with minors.

31 July

There's well over 100 football-related agreements in the Cyprus Confidential files - and that's just the stuff that a) used Abramovich-owned Cypriot/BVI companies and b) maintained some sort of record. There will no doubt be more that we can't see or that has been lost.

4 July

Pitch: Instead of penalties (arbitrary, overly tense etc), if the scores are still level at 90 minutes, why not introduce... a second ball? #MultiBall

podcasts.apple.comB-SIDE: The Scotland LabPodcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 3 July · 1hr 1min

4 July

@garethtbij.bsky.social I reckon this idea has legs

Simon Lock reposted

Alex Andreou

@sturdyalex.bsky.social

3 July

“Scottish Water is absolutely something that UK gov't could learn from. It was established quite deliberately as a public corporation. There are upsides and downsides to that - it's not beyond criticism. But compared to privatised English companies, it has been a stable model that's performed well.”

Quiet Riot@quietriotpod.bsky.social

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 B-SIDE: The Scotland Lab 👨🏽‍🎓 Can Burnham learn from Scot devo? 🪨 What might his plans mean for Scots? 🌹 Should Scot Labour split off? @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social with @ipprscotland.bsky.social's @stephenboydippr.bsky.social 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/7555... 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...

3 June

Meanwhile, in the BBC comment section.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteri...

2 June

en.wikipedia.orgBetteridge's law of headlines - Wikipedia

The Guardian@theguardian.com

The return of the bridal suit! Will Dua Lipa’s look change the face of weddings?

theguardian.comThe return of the bridal suit! Will Dua Lipa’s look change the face of weddings?In 1971, Bianca Jagger entranced the fashion world with the skirt suit she wore to marry Mick Jagger. Now, in a nod to that style, Lipa is ushering in a new era of nonconformity

thebureauinvestigates.comMoney transfer giant Wise investigated for half a billion in…Prosecutors looking into whether digital finance firm has been used to launder proceeds of fraud, corruption and drug trafficking

1 June

Latest from myself at TBIJ, working alongside the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC): Digital payments giant Wise is under investigation by prosecutors in Belgium over concerns its accounts have been used by criminals to launder the proceeds of fraud, corruption and drug trafficking.

1 June

Wise accounts featured in hundreds of requests for cross-border help in criminal proceedings from more than 30 countries across Europe. For this piece we worked with partners across Europe including Le Soir, Mediapart, Der Spiegel, NRC, Der Standaard, Dagens N, InfoLibre and Expresso.

27 May

Yup, sounds about right.

14 May

A security... reward?

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

“A reward” This is why so many voters want to see political donations capped at a low level, if not done away with completely

lawgazette.co.uk'Most aggressive lawyers in London' in Winehouse auction litigationSinger's father instructed his solicitors to 'bombard the defendants with aggressive letters and the threat of litigation'.

21 Apr

So Amy Winehouse's father's lawyers, (Russells): - Made false claims that her friends stole Amy's possessions to sell at auction - "Bombarded" (judges words) the same friends with multiple highly aggressive legal letters in quick succession. Any consequences? www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/most-ag...

stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.appAllister Heath Headline Generator

26 Feb

I'm here for this.

Martin Nicholls@martinnicholls.bsky.social

In honour of the Sunday Telegraph's editor and offical maddest columnist, we have created the Allister Heath headline generator... stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app

16 Feb

Lightweight. Personally I yearn for the pre-money age. What was wrong with bartering with cows. Those were the days (I presume).

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social

Dan wasn't even born before decimalisation (nor was he anywhere near the UK when he was born) but still he yearns for Britain's pre-decimal times 55 years later.

10 Feb

Did not realise this was now the standard measurement for ancient cities.

9 Feb

Which of his ten thousand on-the-side jobs will he work in the particular office for though.

Peter Stefanovic@peterstefanovic.bsky.social

BREAKING: Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home and the focus on work-life balance "People aren't more productive working from home - it's a load of nonsense” Whatever you do JUST DON’T VOTE REFORM!

8 Feb

Really need a 90s/00s obscure-sports-underdog movie but for curling.

thebureauinvestigates.comMandelson emailed Epstein suggesting private villa ‘for your “guests”’Redacted email deciphered by TBIJ shows former politician suggesting holiday home for convicted sex offender

7 Feb

NEW from TBIJ w/ BBC - Mandelson recommended private villa to Epstein, less than a month after the latter's house arrest finished. He said the house offered "beautiful suites" and “privacy with accompanying rooms for your ‘guests’”: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

bbc.co.ukMandelson suggested holiday home for 'privacy' of Epstein 'guests'Former Labour Party peer tells sex offender he found

7 Feb

BBC article with @harrietagerholm.bsky.social here! BBC News - Mandelson suggested holiday home for 'privacy' of Epstein 'guests' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

4 Feb

Can't believe Paul Tweed's not a Private Eye fan.

Private Eye Magazine@privateeyenews.bsky.social

PRIVATE EYE NAMED IN EPSTEIN FILES In the latest files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released by the US Justice Department, the Eye is denounced as “an absolute rag of a publication” by Epstein’s then lawyer, Paul Tweed… 🧵1/5

20 Jan

Impeccable timing that YouTube has now started pitching "Visit the USA" adverts at me. I'm good thanks.

20 Jan

Starts off "When you visit the US - just say yes" which I can only assume is advice for dealing with Border Control and/or ICE agents.

bbc.co.ukLearner drivers may have to wait six months before taking testA minimum learning period of up to six months could be introduced for learner drivers

6 Jan

I mean the test system is so broken that it effectively is over 6 months before you can get a test anyway.... BBC News - Learner drivers may have to wait six months before taking test www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

3 Jan

"It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on its head"

bbc.co.ukPorn site fined £1m over age verification has never replied to OfcomThe regulator tells the BBC it has been emailing AVS Group Ltd without reply since July.

4 Dec 2025

Lo and behold the company in question is based in Belize. I feel like even by the incredibly low standard of offshore secrecy jurisdictions, Belize is just a complete and utter blackhole of transparency.

Joe Tidy BBC News@joetidy.bsky.social

UK's Ofcom keeps issuing fines to companies which fail to put adequate age gating into sites. But companies are just ignoring them. Online Safety Act is proving very hard to enact. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukNew law to clamp down on driving test botsThe Transport Secretary has announced new measures to tackle the continuing backlog of driving tests.

As someone who needed to take [redacted] number of tests before I passed, and so was fully aware of just how broken the booking system was in practice, any improvement is a good sign. That said, I'm curious as to how this will actually work in practice. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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By the time I took my final test (because by this point c. 2023 it was impossible to book anything within 6 months) there were actually web plug-ins that acted as users on the DVSA website, clicking/reloading specific driving centres (at randomised human-like intervals) until it found a test.

It was literally designed to appear non-automated - that's the sort of thing that DVSA will be up against.

bbc.co.ukNew law to clamp down on driving test botsThe Transport Secretary has announced new measures to tackle the continuing backlog of driving tests.

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2. Bots being used to book tests. I'm unclear how what's being outlined is going to stop that, and how they won't simply evolve to get round any changes. The bots I used (because you basically had no choice but to use them) weren't booking instructor slots, nor were they reselling at higher prices.

They essentially pretended to be you, spotted cancelled slots, reserved it, cancelled your test and then rebooked the new one for you. Which was all well and good until everyone starts using them at which point it just became a case of bot-on-bot fastest finger.

bbc.co.ukNew law to clamp down on driving test botsThe Transport Secretary has announced new measures to tackle the continuing backlog of driving tests.