Al Jazeera Investigates

When Bangladeshi’s woke up on the morning of August 5, 2024 no one knew what would happen. Hundreds of thousands of people were planning to march to the capital. But security forces still loyal to Sheikh Hasina were determined to keep her in power no matter the cost. Until the final minutes, her fate remained uncertain. The last day of the uprising would be the deadliest and most dramatic.  Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by me, Kevin Hirten and  Tamara Khandaker with Craig Pennington who is also our audio editor. Additional editing by Manny Panarertos. Clean Cuts did the final sound mix  Black Box did the music for this series. Will Thorne is the Executive Producer. And Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

With the internet shut off, Sheikh Hasina attempts to claw back the narrative. But as the uprising reaches its final days, it becomes clear that her cruel crackdown on the students has backfired. There’s no turning back. A fateful decision from Bangladesh’s most powerful institution puts Sheikh Hasina’s government on a glidepath to collapse.  Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by me, Kevin Hirten and  Tamara Khandaker with Craig Pennington who is also our audio editor. Additional editing by Manny Panarertos. Clean Cuts did the final sound mix  Black Box did the music for this series. Will Thorne is the Executive Producer.And Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

Abu Sayed’s death super charges the uprising and Sheikh Hasina is determined to put a stop to it. In this episode, we’ll hear Hasina, on exclusively obtained recordings, authorizing deadly force. As the situation worsens she makes two fateful decisions. She calls the Army in and turns the internet off.   Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by me, Kevin Hirten and Tamara Khandaker with Craig Pennington who is also our audio editor. Additional editing by Manny Panarertos. Clean Cuts did the final sound mix  Black Box composed original music for this series. Will Thorne is the Executive Producer. And Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

Abu Sayed, a young man from a poor village, is shot dead while standing up to police in front of his university campus. With thousands watching the tragic scene on livestream, he becomes instantly viewed as a martyr. Sheikh Hasina, whose political career was grounded in the martyrdom of her famous father, scrambles to change the narrative and help turn Abu Sayed from a hero into a villain.   Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by me, Kevin Hirten and  Tamara Khandaker with Craig Pennington who is also our audio editor. Additional editing by Manny Panaretos. Clean Cuts did the final sound mix  Black Box composed original music for this series. Will Thorne is the Executive Producer. And Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.    

After 15 years in office, Sheikh Hasina’s stranglehold on power starts to loosen.   A grievous insult leveled at student protesters catapults a long simmering dispute over government jobs into a full fledged rebellion. When students take to the streets, the government deploys armed gangs to beat them into submission. It’s a tactic that has worked in the past, but this time the students are fighting back like never before.  Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten and Tamara Khandaker with Craig Pennington who is also the audio editor. Additional editing by Manny Panaretos. Clean Cuts did the final sound mix. Black Box did music for this series. Will Thorne is the Executive Producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

On October 9th, 2024 the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) hosted a Westminster screening of @AJIunit's newest documentary Gaza. The film examines evidence of possible Israeli war crimes committed in Gaza using images and videos posted by Israeli soldiers themselves. A panel discussion followed the screening with experts answering questions about if and how International Law can be used to hold Israel accountable. In this episode: Susan Abulhawa - Human Rights Activist and Author Youmna Elsayed - Al Jazeera Gaza Strip Correspondent Haydee Dijkstal - Barrister and Chief Counsel at ICJP  Dr Victoria Rose - NHS Plastic Surgeon  Richard Sanders - Director, 'Gaza' Jeremy Corbyn - MP, Former Labour Leader Dania Abul Haj - ICJP Senior Legal Officer  Episode credits: This episode was produced by Kevin Hirten and Sami Vanderlip. It was edited by Manny Panaretos and Craig Pennington. Alex Roldan did the final sound mix. Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera's acting director of investigative journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube @AJIUnit on Twitter, Instagram

Al Jazeera Investigates/The Take  A new @AJIunit documentary investigates thousands of posts from social media documenting war crimes by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. This interview with the film's director, Richard Sanders, examines what this database exposes about the last year of war – what’s being called the first “live streamed genocide”? This episode first aired on October 8, 2024. In this episode: Richard Sanders (@PulaRJS), Director, “Gaza” Episode credits: This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li, David Enders, and Ashish Malhotra with Manny Panaretos, Cole van Miltenburg, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and our host, Kevin Hirten.  The sound designer is Alex Roldan.  Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. Alexandra Locke is the Take’s executive producer.  Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera's acting director of investigative journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.  Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube @AJIUnit on Twitter, Instagram

The undercover team finally comes face-to-face with the high-ranking Bangladeshi politician who kicked it all off. Meanwhile, events back home have scrambled his plans and sent him into hiding.  In the world of finance the minister was classified as a PEP - a Politically Exposed Person. Now the walls are closing in on the man his own estate agent called a Super PEP. Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten, with Adrian Gatton, and Saer Khan. Craig Pennington is our sound designer.  Additional editing from Manny Panaretos. Clean cuts does the final sound mix. Will Thorne is the show’s executive producer. Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera’s Acting Director of Investigative Journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

To gain the Estate Agent’s trust, we assume the identity of a high-net worth individual.  The team goes all out: Rolls Royce, Savoy Suite, fancy clothes, you name it. Would it be enough to get him to spill his secrets about how the Minister manages his millions?  Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with Adrian Gatton. Craig Pennington is our sound designer.  Additional editing from Manny Panaretos. Clean cuts does the final sound mix. Will Thorne is the show’s executive producer. Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera’s Acting Director of Investigative Journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

With foreign ownership of UK housing skyrocketing, the team heads to an overseas property fair in Istanbul, Turkey. This is where overseas buyers scoop up great swaths of property in bulk. Our goal is to track down the estate agent who helped this Bangladeshi politician build his global housing empire. Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten, with Adrian Gatton. Craig Pennington is our sound designer.  Additional editing from Manny Panaretos Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Will Thorne is the show’s executive producer. Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera’s Acting Director of Investigative Journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

In the midst of a historic housing crisis, a tip came into the AJ I-Unit that a high-ranking politician from Bangladesh might be one the largest private landlords in the UK. The team set about chasing down the information; what’s true, what's not and how this story helped explain why millions of regular people can’t afford to buy. Episode Credits: This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten, with Adrian Gatton. Craig Pennington is our sound designer.  Additional editing from Manny Panaretos. Clean cuts does the final sound mix. Will Thorne is the show’s executive producer. Rafi Mustafa is Al Jazeera’s Acting Director of Investigative Journalism and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio.

In the shadows of the UN’s climate conference, our undercover reporters, posing as criminals from Hong Kong, arrange a meeting with Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa. There’s a billion-dollar plan on the table to turn Victoria Falls into a mega-casino on the scale of Las Vegas and Macau. Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators of this series.Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter

The stakes continue to rise as the AJ I-Unit gets closer to the center of power. Our undercover team meets one of Zimbabwe’s most powerful diplomats who offers to help launder a billion dollars on our behalf. With buy-in at the highest levels of government, it’s clear nothing is off the table.  Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators of this series.Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter

When it comes to laundering illicit funds through the gold trade, all roads seem to lead to Dubai. The AJ I-Unit gains access to the city’s famed Gold Tower where we learn how traders disguise the true origin of smuggled gold and dirty money.  Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators of this series. Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter

It all starts with a pack of illegal cigarettes bought on the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. The AJ I-Unit follows the money as it’s laundered by a flamboyant gangster known as Mo Dollars. His former partners tell all about his lavish lifestyle and audacious schemes to launder millions. Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators of this series.Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter  

He nearly bankrupted Kenya and now he’s back to his old tricks. Our undercover team meets with Kamlesh Pattni, the notorious businessman behind the famed Goldenberg Scandal. Pattni tells all about how he cleans dirty money through the international gold trade.  Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators on this series.Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter    

The AJ I-Unit goes undercover to expose some of Africa’s biggest gold smugglers and money launderers. We take you inside a scheme to wash millions of dollars by trading gold from Southern Africa to the Middle East and back again. Find out why gold is the key that unlocks it all. Episode Credits:This episode was written and produced by Kevin Hirten with help from Amy Walters. Alexander James and Sarah Yeo are the lead investigators on this series.Craig Pennington is our sound designer. Clean Cuts does the final sound mix. Eric Samothrakis composed our theme song. Our engagement producer is Hasan Rrahmani. Peter Charley is the show’s Executive Producer, Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio and Phil Rees is Al Jazeera’s Director of Investigative Journalism. Connect with us: @ajiunit on Twitter

The factional war is over. Sir Keir Starmer is the new Leader. The Labour left is scattered and shattered.  But the party leadership is in no mood to reconcile.  The Labour Files show an unprecedented effort to purge the party of Jeremy Corbyn supporters and make sure what happened in 2015 can never happen again.

A scandal over antisemitism in the UK Labour Party engulfs the final months of Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader.  But, as The Labour Files show, the facts don’t match the public narrative that sets in following a brutal, internal conflict and the broadcast of a controversial BBC documentary.       

In the 2017 general election, Jeremy Corbyn shocks everyone after falling just a few thousand votes short of becoming Prime Minister. The Labour Files, a massive leak of internal party documents, reveal how panic over Corbyn’s success unites his opponents. Meanwhile, a new scandal is brewing that will ultimately lead to his downfall.  

Jeremy Corbyn’s surprise election as UK Labour leader in 2015 ignites a vicious internal war within the Party. The left flank has the people but the right flank has the power. The Labour Files, a massive leak of internal documents, reveal how Corbyn’s opponents within the party manoeuvered to disable him as the Labour leader – abandoning democracy in the process.  

‘The Truth Illusion’ explores one of the most profound questions that philosophers through the ages have tried to answer. What can we prove to be the truth? In today's deeply divided societies, is it even possible for people to agree on a common ‘reality’? Al Jazeera investigates how those deepening divisions began and how they have eroded faith in authority – creating conspiracy theories and ‘alternative facts’.

When Al Jazeera's I-Unit released its investigation into sexual misconduct against women at British Universities in late 2021, it created a storm on social media. But after the revelations, has anything changed? In this episode, Degrees of Abuse: The Impact, we find out what’s happened to the four male academics accused of abuse. We also hear from women in each case about how it felt to finally hear the names made public and what kind of response they've received. *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting. 

More incredible revelations about how a PhD student at Glasgow University lied about his dead wife and falsely accused innocent people of killing her.  Question is, why has it taken almost four years for Glasgow University to investigate multiple complaints about him? *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting.   

The PhD student at Glasgow University was charismatic and charming and part of his appeal was his tragic past. But his relationships with several women became abusive and controlling.  As our investigation dug deeper into his history in his home country, we uncovered his lies and the real story of his murdered wife. *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting. 

Four women delivered separate complaints to Glasgow University about the behaviour of the same lecturer.  Their experiences were strikingly similar but the University found the only person to have done anything wrong, wasn’t the accused, but the accuser. *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting. 

Students started off admiring this lecturer at the University of Glasgow.  They thought he cared about their academic careers.  But when his comments and messages became more intimate and personal, they say he crossed boundaries and started grooming. *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting.   

He’s a leading academic at the University of Oxford. His expertise is in times gone by.  Both students and other lecturers say his drunken and abusive behaviour is also a throwback and has no place in the modern world. *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting.   

He’s a famous professor at Oxford in the UK, one of the world’s most prestigious universities. But across three decades and three institutions, women have described him as a sexual predator. During a two-year investigation, Al Jazeera’s I-Unit uncovers systematic failures inside the walls of academia that have only served to protect their lecturers. We hear from women who are fighting to shift the balance of power.  *Please note some listeners may find these accounts upsetting. 

Desperate to do a deal, Christopher Samuelson enlists the help of a former cop who’s prepared to push the limits of the law. This ‘dirty trickster’ claims he can get us phone records, private emails and even a new identity – all in the name of deceiving the football authorities and getting a deal done.

In this episode, master dealmaker, Christopher Samuelson, schools our undercover reporters in the dark arts of offshore finance. The I-Unit digs into his past as a money manager to some of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs. Plus, he reveals shocking new details about his role as a middleman in the sales of Reading FC and Aston Villa FC.

Al Jazeera’s I-Unit goes undercover to buy an English football club. But there’s a catch. The fictional buyer is a criminal and wants to use the club to launder his dirty money. That’s against the rules but that won’t stop The Men Who Sell Football from trying to close the deal.

The true power of the Ahmed Clan comes into focus. New evidence emerges showing the brothers are acting with impunity, cutting corrupt deals, committing human rights abuses and undermining Bangladesh’s democracy, while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina looks on.

A tip brings our team to Budapest. We’ve received word that a mysterious businessman is actually a fugitive member of the Ahmed Clan who fled his murder conviction in the 1990s. Join the investigative team as they track him down, expose his true identity and reveal the extent of his criminal influence in his homeland of Bangladesh.

All the Prime Minister’s Men is a gripping, true-crime story of a high-level coverup happening right now in Bangladesh. Through undercover recordings, confessional interviews, historical analysis and primary source documents, Al Jazeera Investigates exposes the corrupt and ongoing relationship between a criminal gang of brothers and the country’s leader. It’s a relationship that’s lasted more than 30 years.Part One begins with a murder on the streets of the capital of Dhaka.

In late January 2020, two Chinese journalists got an assignment that would change their lives. They were sent to Wuhan to investigate the mysterious outbreak of a new strain of the coronavirus. What they witnessed as the city of 11 million people locked down is censored by the Chinese government. We are retelling it here, in testimony and footage smuggled out of the country. Here's what really happened in Wuhan during those three days that stopped the world.

Inside the story that rocked Europe’s 'Golden Passport' program.The European Union has launched infringement procedures following an explosive report from Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit. In a daring undercover operation, our team posed as representatives of a fictional, Chinese criminal looking to buy his way into Cyprus. What we discovered enraged citizens, forced powerful politicians to step down and left the government in Cyprus with no choice but to abolish its passport for investment scheme.

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has obtained a major leak of documents we're calling The Cyprus Papers. They show that convicted criminals and fugitives are using Cyprus’ "golden passport" scheme to buy their way into the EU. Host Kevin Hirten takes you inside the investigation with the team that broke the story.

It’s been called journalism’s most audacious sting.A right-wing political party caught red-handed by Al Jazeera, soliciting funds and advice from the NRA on how to get guns back into Australia.Host Kevin Hirten talks to the investigative unit’s Executive Producer Peter Charley about his new book based on the award-winning documentary How to Sell A Massacre.

One of the world’s most fertile fishing grounds is beset by scandal. Al Jazeera goes undercover to expose how foreign companies get a corrupt cut of a priceless natural resource in Namibia. Host Kevin Hirten sits down with producer James Kleinfeld to break down the “Anatomy of a Bribe” that engulfed a nation.

A businessman, $450,000 and a promise. It all comes together in Part 4, but dealing Diplomatic passports would end up sending shock waves across the political spectrum in Dominica. It started with a single call. And then a snap general election is announced. 

We knew that people were buying diplomatic passports. We even had an idea about how they were doing it. But in order to get the full story, we had to try to buy one. In part three of our investigative series, we send someone undercover to try to purchase an ambassadorship.

Buying citizenship is a surprisingly common practice. Buying a diplomatic passport is next-level. In episode two of our new investigative series, we bring you the story of the Iranian billionaire who bought himself an ambassadorship — and ended up as a cautionary tale in a Calypso song.

Ever wanted a second citizenship? You can buy that — and it's totally legal. But unsurprisingly, the market for passports is rife with corruption. Al Jazeera's investigative team dug into the practice, and discovered more than they'd bargained for. Dive in with the first of a four-part series from our new podcast featuring the network's biggest and most explosive investigations.

Coming soon: the first series from Al Jazeera's new podcast exploring the network's biggest and most explosive investigations. We're diving deep into the illicit sale of diplomatic passports. Hear Episode 1 on November 25.