Pandora Papers: How China pushed to gain influence in Serbia
Huawei appears to have paid large sums to a former Serbian state telecom executive through an offshore shell company.
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More than three weeks have passed since the first round of stories from the Pandora Papers were published and our colleagues at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed fresh insights from the leak.
They sent us their latest Pandora Leaks story about Huawei and its relationships with Serbian interlocutors. Some key finding by OCCRP includes these items of interest:
A former executive at state telecom company Telekom Serbia likely received over $1 million through an offshore firm in the British Virgin Islands that had contracts with Chinese technology giant Huawei.
The payments were linked to contracts with Huawei, some for consulting services that included introducing Huawei to government officials and arranging meetings for the Chinese company.
In 2016, Huawei inked a major agreement with Telekom Serbia to overhaul Serbia’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Experts say the offshore arrangements raise red flags for corruption. A current Telekom Serbia official said they should not have happened.
It is well worth reading the entire report. Copy the link below into your browser and enjoy the revelations.
https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora-papers/chinese-tech-giant-huawei-had-secret-offshore-contracts-with-men-linked-to-serbian-state-telecom-company