Welcome back to the podcast, bribes, windle, or steel. I'm Alexandra Rogge. Today we're discussing the

ongoing story of the Cyprus papers and what the Al Jazeera team uncovered about the manipulation

of the golden passport process by high-risk individuals and in some cases outright criminals.

We'll also discuss the follow-on news. Just last week, Cyprus announced that it would abolish

the controversial program and Cypriot MP involved in the sale of passports, Christakis Giovanni,

resigned from the government in the wake of Al Jazeera's reporting. Joining me today is Alex

Krucher. Alex is one of the lead reporters on this story, and I am delighted to have him on the podcast.

He's a journalist in Al Jazeera's investigative unit. His team's award-winning documentaries

use undercover filming and data leaks to break stories that expose institutional corruption around the

world,

with recent stories ranging from infiltration of far-right groups in France,

match-fixing in cricket, and even attempts by the U.S. pro-gun lobby

to influence Australian politics. Alex, thank you for joining me.

Thank you very much for having me.

For listeners that are unfamiliar with the story, can you tell us how the Cyprus papers drama unfolded?

What was the initial thread that led you to the investigation?

The Cyprus papers didn't really start in Cyprus.

It started with a meeting between our undercover reporters who at the time were

claiming to represent the interests of a Chinese businessman and between them and a former

police officer in London. And the police officer suggested that their clients look into the Cyprus investment program

as a way of getting a stippery of passport because it could be a convenient way for them to

move money. This was essentially the genesis of this investigation, this meeting with the police

...