Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 24/09/2026Russia’s state oil giant is a key pillar in the Kremlin’s industrial money-laundering system —- and uses it itself to get its own cash back inside Russia. 015
Reposted by Chris CookChris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...ft.comKremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banksFT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7 5275164
Reposted by Chris CookTom Hannen @tomhannen.ft.com · 21/09/2026Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks - FT video produced by me, written by @chriscook.news & @chassnews.bsky.social FT story (1st 300 clicks free): as.ft.com/r/c4fd2c08-5... 05742
Reposted by Chris CookTuffy @smtuffy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Great reminder that, for all the advances with crypto, nothing beats old fashioned money laundering through the banking system 13218
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...ft.comKremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banksFT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7 5275164
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 19/09/2026you really have to admire Spurs’ commitment to being the funniest club in the premier league 0263
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026I think some of the stuff about cryptoassets being used for political donations is a bit muddled: a) there’s no reason a payment in crypto is hard to handle. You can easily make systems that only accept payments *after* a KYC process. 232
Reposted by Chris CookHelen Warrell @helenwarrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026James Orr: Reform’s head of policy, Cambridge theologian, architect of the new British right. Our profile for @ftweekend.com looks at his links to the Maga movement, Silicon Valley & European populists, and his life as a Cambridge lecturer with @ramshodgson.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c2d0...ft.comJames Orr and the gospel of the new British rightReform’s policy head is a Cambridge theologian with an enviable contact book and a belief in ‘faith, family and flag’ 129357
Reposted by Chris CookChris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026A big shock from Malta: the jury acquits the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia: as.ft.com/r/977679ea-7...as.ft.comBusinessman acquitted in Maltese journalist’s murder trialDaphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017 16661
Reposted by Chris CookSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 02/09/2026A Death in Malta is her son's vg account of the murder, the context & the family's canpaign for justice. This made our Orwell prize konglist when I was on the judging panel a couple of yesrs ago www.penguin.co.uk/books/447844...penguin.co.ukA Death in Malta'A murdered mother's fight for truth and justice lives on through the words of her youngest son' Angelina Jolie 'A work of rare vividness and authority, devastatingly told' Financial Times When Paul... 1148
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026A big shock from Malta: the jury acquits the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia: as.ft.com/r/977679ea-7...as.ft.comBusinessman acquitted in Maltese journalist’s murder trialDaphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017 16661
Reposted by Chris CookChristabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Just quietly noting that the non-Farage vote in Clacton (36% x 44% turnout) is comfortably higher than the 10% of the constituency electorate needed for a petition to trigger another by-election if Farage is suspended from the Commons for 10 days... 28534
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 13/08/2026Thoughts with the education corrs on their big day, which has fallen this year into a deep domestic news hole. 150
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 10/08/2026it's extremely bad news for football if clubs now feel obliged to police every banner held up by every group of fans in case someone is rude about someone somewhere. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...bbc.co.ukEvangelos Marinakis: Nottingham Forest owner sues Crystal Palace over fan bannerEvangelos Marinakis is suing Crystal Palace for a banner unfurled by their fans depicting the Nottingham Forest owner holding a gun to midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White's head. 280
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 30/07/2026the green areas here also have issues with, for example, getting space in the same cemeteries as family members — and basic upkeep. lots of municipal cemeteries are extremely ratty. 455
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 28/07/2026as a general rule, delaying specialisation to 16 + the GCSE being well specified exams are positive feature of England’s system 69713
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 15/07/2026i was not aware of this group on getting the military out of british universites, but... if you take this contract, they've ascribed the full £77mn value to *all 20* universities participating (it's listed as £77mn on each individual HEI page). demilitariseeducation.com/data/partner...demilitariseeducation.comDemilitarise Education | dED 130
Reposted by Chris CookClara Murray @claradoodle.bsky.social · 13/07/2026New ↪️ ✨ : Allbirds recently pivoted its business from shoes to AI servers. Its share price spiked 860% but has plunged back down. That's a pattern repeated across many recent AI rebrands as former cancer drug and goldmining cos add buzzy AI-related terms to their names, I found 13019
Reposted by Chris CookStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 12/07/2026This piece on the "load-bearing internet people" and how AI-code writing is overwhelming the web's unheralded maintainers by @samlearner.bsky.social is absolutely terrific: brilliantly accessible without being patronising:ft.comWho cleans up after the vibe-coding party?Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers 1012828
Reposted by Chris CookSam Learner @samlearner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026wrote for the magazine about the open source software that underpins our digital lives, how it is being upended by AI code tools, and about maintainers as.ft.com/r/b7f62212-9...ft.comWho cleans up after the vibe-coding party?Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers 1825280
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 10/07/2026I feel like this man should meet @alanbeattie.bsky.social to talk about the bayeux not-a-tapestry 4461
Reposted by Chris CookJohn Reed @johnreedwrites.ft.com · 08/07/2026Read this absolutely fantastic @FT deep dive on Palantir and its CEO Alex Karp, by my colleagues @chriscook.news @georgehammond.bsky.social and Alex Rogers as.ft.com/r/1b34df7a-4...as.ft.comThe price of Palantir’s politicsPushback to the tech group’s politics may threaten the core of its $330bn business 13028
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 05/07/2026all this, and Norway didn’t even bring on the real firepower (Strand Larsen) 1161
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 05/07/2026very confusing for me to want a footballing outcome that will make @robinwigglesworth.ft.com happy 010
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 05/07/2026fewer weird slo-mo narrow depth of field shots of people in the crowd, more replays pls 2152
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 01/07/2026so much for the Flemish Block we’ve heard so much about, and their noted right wing play. 050
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 30/06/2026but, I ask you, is this better than Olise destroying Millwall?static.klipy.comOlise Crystal Palace GestureALT: Olise Crystal Palace Gesture 2130
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 27/06/2026I appreciate Spence’s jaw protector is there for a serious reason, but I can’t escape that it also makes it look like he’s a little horsey. 1160
Reposted by Chris Cookcookbot 🤖 @cook.report · 22/06/2026🚨 New article by @chriscook.newsft.comHundreds of ships wait outside Gulf for full opening of Hormuz StraitMany tanker operators reluctant to move vessels until Iran and the US strengthen ceasefire deal 001
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 22/06/2026big miss for boolean functions if we don't get a Andy v Nandy race. 69115
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/06/2026A lot of people are confused about who actually benefits from the triple lock 594
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/06/2026Currently, the bookies' odds imply a 54 per cent chance of success on the most important question of the world cup: will at least one current palace player get a winner's medal. 131
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 09/06/2026Still 4,000 tickets up for the US‘s first game in a home World Cup (maybe they’ve heard European Champion™ Chris Richards is a doubt). 083
Reposted by Chris CookHelen Warrell @helenwarrell.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Russia & Iran are recruiting teenagers across Europe and the Middle East to conduct sabotage. From Kyiv to Tel Aviv, we reveal how minors are hired online, paid in crypto & exploited as disposable, deniable, single-use agents. From @christopherjm.ft.com & me www.ft.com/content/58da...ft.comThe teenagers enlisted as agents of mayhem by Russia and IranMinors are being targeted to carry out hostile acts from Ukraine to western Europe and Israel 39255
Reposted by Chris CookRay Douglas @raydouglas.bsky.social · 24/05/2026⚽ 36 points is usually enough to stay up in the Premier League West Ham have just been relegated on 39 -- the highest tally by a relegated side since Birmingham City went down on the same total in 2010-11 1105
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 20/05/2026I edited a comment piece by Barney Frank, introduced an inadvertent error that he didn't notice when he read it back, a reader wrote a letter to point it out and he wrote back very graciously pretending the error was his -- so, all in all: good guy. 1232
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 12/04/2026so, uh, can we get JD Vance to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 2262
Reposted by Chris CookKate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 12/04/2026And how he dodges Brussels’ anti-graft measures. It takes money, time, patience and really good lawyers to report this kind of stuff. Buy a paper! #buyapaper www.ft.com/content/8973...ft.comHow Hungary sidesteps Europe’s fraud watchdogViktor Orbán’s government has returned just 18% of funds flagged by the EU’s anti-graft body 1267
Reposted by Chris CookKate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 12/04/2026His relationships with oligarchs … www.ft.com/content/70c2...ft.comHow Viktor Orbán’s oligarchs reaped billions in public contractsFT investigation finds 13 associates of Hungary’s premier won large share of state works after he took power 26416
Reposted by Chris CookKate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 12/04/2026Then there is the Kremlin’s involvement … www.ft.com/content/34df...ft.comKremlin backs covert campaign to keep Viktor Orbán in powerVladimir Putin endorses plan drawn up by Russian consultancy that is under western sanctions 16913
Reposted by Chris CookKate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 12/04/2026Perhaps now is a good time to share the @financialtimes.com investigative series on Viktor Orban. To start with here’s the one we sent a reporter up in a plane for … (300 free clicks) as.ft.com/r/8cd54659-d...as.ft.comThe riches of Viktor Orbán’s home village[FREE TO READ] Hungary’s longtime leader is trailing in the polls ahead of April’s election, as the opposition alleges widespread corruption 6256123
Reposted by Chris CookFinancial Times @financialtimes.com · 12/04/2026Hungary’s Orbán concedes defeat as opposition heads for landslide win ft.trib.al/QyIb0GJft.trib.alHungary’s Orbán concedes defeat as opposition heads for landslide winPéter Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to win 136 out of 199 seats, giving it a two-thirds majority 1140791
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 30/03/2026This is part 4 of a series on The Orban System - how the White House and Kremlin’s favourite EU leader really works 184
Reposted by Chris CookAlice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Has the war in Iran enabled the shadow fleet as the US eases sanctions? At least 15 Iranian oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Feb 28, earning Iran possibly around $140mn a day. Our interactive deep dive: ig.ft.com/shadow-fleet/ @nassosstylianou.bsky.social & Lucy Rodgersig.ft.comHow the shadow fleet is capitalising on the chaos of warThe Iran conflict has offered the illicit oil trade a lifeline — while the easing of US sanctions widens a transatlantic rift 11812
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 25/03/2026I started reporting on the use of private messaging channels to evade accountability laws about 5,600 days ago 0160