Henk Willem Smits & Hugo Rasch

The Amsterdam-based trust office C-Corp is small and little-known, but serves the crème de la crème of the Russian business world. Among them are several billionaires, and Rostec, manufacturer of the BUK missile that shot down MH17. In the Netherlands, Rostec was involved in a joint venture with American company General Electric, according to research by Follow the Money.

Henk Willem Smits, Hugo Rasch & Remy Koens

The Netherlands has traditionally been important for Russian companies and oligarchs. Even today, hundreds of Russian (letterbox) companies are registered in the Netherlands. Now that the European Union has announced sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, Follow the Money has mapped out how and where the Netherlands can hit Putin in his wallet. [Updated: 1 March.]

Henk Willem Smits & Remy Koens

It is no secret that U2, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC have kept their music rights in the Netherlands. But does this also apply to other artists who sold millions of records? Yes, it does! From crooner Julio Iglesias and synthpop band Eurythmics to opera singer Placido Domingo, singer Vaya Con Dios, and Taiwanese pop star Teresa Teng: they all used the Netherlands and Curaçao to evade tax, according to research by Follow the Money.