Tom Bolsius
tombolsius.bsky.social
Tom Bolsius
@tombolsius.bsky.social
I am working on international collaborations for the Dutch platform for investigative journalism Follow the Money (ftm.nl/ftm.eu).

(And I will likely share thoughts regarding AFC Ajax.)
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲.

In our latest FTM EU podcast, Alexander Fanta and Simon Van Dorpe break down how Google built its dominance, why Brussels struggles to rein it in, and what a potential breakup battle could look like.

🎧Listen below:
Podcast | EU vs Google: The battle for the internet
Google is under growing pressure from EU regulators, who are considering breaking up the tech giant over its market dominance. An investigation by FTM revealed how the company’s controversial corporat...
www.ftm.eu
November 26, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
In September, our investigation showed how Cambodian microfinance firms – including EU-funded LOLC Cambodia – pushed borrowers into desperation and may have caused suicide.

Now LOLC has been awarded Gold Client Protection Certification.

Read about the reality and the human cost behind these loans:
Deaths spotlight dark side of Europe-backed microloans in Cambodia
In a country that is struggling with poverty and high illiteracy rates, Europe-funded firms are handing out microloans with such high interest rates and fees people often cannot pay back their debt – ...
www.ftm.eu
November 26, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🇪🇺📥 A sneak peek inside this week’s Europe Uncovered: a system trapping mothers fleeing abuse; wrongful arrests; sanction loopholes; and a migration crackdown that punishes ordinary citizens

👉 Here’s Europe’s hardest-hitting investigations of the week: www.ftm.eu/articles/new...
Newsletter | Trapped mothers, warped justice & Europe’s quiet complicity
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
November 22, 2025 at 7:48 AM
November 23, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🚨 NATO officials warned about corruption for years – and were ignored.

Leaked files seen by FTM reveal blocked audits, missed warnings, staff pressure and inaction – plus five corruption probes already uncovered by FTM.

🔗Read the full story below:
NATO’s procurement chief under fire amid corruption scandal, leak reveals
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is mired in a corruption scandal, and top officials have raised concerns about its approach to tackling graft. Internal documents reveal how General Mana...
www.ftm.eu
November 21, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
Senegal’s EU-financed crackdown on smuggling isn’t just jailing the organisers – it’s also jailing ordinary people.

From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention.

Full story 👇
Senegal’s EU-funded migration crackdown puts innocent people behind bars
Senegal is tightening its grip on irregular migration, aiming to make sure fewer people use its shores to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe via the Atlantic. Backed by the EU, the crackdown is...
www.ftm.eu
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗖𝗖 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿.

So how did he end up back in Libya as a free man?

Our new podcast explores how migration politics may have overridden international justice.

🎧 Listen now: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
November 19, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
📱Your favourite apps are getting pricier – and in some cases glitchier. WeTransfer, Meetup and Evernote now belong to a fast-growing Italian company that has laid off much of their staff. What does that mean for millions of users?

Read the full article here: www.ftm.eu/articles/wet...
November 18, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🇪🇺⚒️ 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗩𝘀 – 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁?

Behind rising global demand, state-owned OCP faces criticism over pollution, harm to livestock, and fatal accidents among workers.

🎧 Listen to the full story on our website, app, or your favourite streaming service:
Podcast | The dark side of Morocco’s mining boom
Phosphate minerals from Morocco are essential for producing fertiliser and the batteries that power electric vehicles. But local communities say that the world’s biggest exporter – the state-owned OCP...
www.ftm.eu
November 12, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🇪🇺💻 Can Europe ever achieve digital sovereignty?

Journalist Alexander Fanta breaks down why the EU still depends on American tech – from cloud servers to major apps – using cases like the Zivver data breach and AWS outage to show how fragile Europe’s digital independence is.
November 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
💧 Will Europe’s green hydrogen dream run dry before it even begins?

Europe bet on the clean fuel to meet its climate targets. Five years on, the billion-euro plan in Namibia is stalling – investors are leaving and little has been built. Yet Brussels still clings to the dream.

👇 Read the article
Europe’s climate goals at risk as hydrogen dream faces wake-up call in Namibia
Namibia’s green hydrogen industry has been hailed as a vital part of the EU’s clean energy transition. Yet the fledgling sector is plagued by problems and struggling to get off the ground, Follow the ...
www.ftm.eu
November 11, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
Op de klimaattop in Belém kunnen landen op dit moment miljoenendeals sluiten. En die gaan niet over olie of goud, maar over iets veel waardevollers: de bescherming van bossen. In ‘Wie betaalt, mag vervuilen’ onthullen Mira Sys en Ties Gijzel wie er écht profiteert van deze groene miljardenhandel.
Op de klimaattop gaan bossen voor miljoenen over de toonbank
Terwijl wereldleiders in Belém samenkomen voor de zoveelste klimaattop, luiden Mira Sys en Ties Gijzel de noodklok. Voor hun nieuwe boek ‘Wie betaalt, mag vervuilen’ onderzochten ze lucratieve klimaat...
www.ftm.nl
November 11, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🇪🇺📬 A sneak peek from this week’s Bureau Brussels: Germany’s sensitive exports to Israel have surged fivefold since the Gaza war; a Parliament pizza party sparks an ethics scandal; ministers weaken 2040 climate goals as the ultra-rich tighten their grip.

👇 Here’s the latest edition
Newsletter | From Berlin to Tel Aviv: exports of sensitive goods soared more than fivefold
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
“The CEO used to be an elite spy.”

FTM journalist Sebastiaan Brommer reveals how European health and government data ended up with a U.S. firm tied to ex-Israeli intelligence – and the risks that poses.

🎧 Here's the latest episode: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
November 7, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Statistisch gezien wordt de kans steeds groter dat mijn naam valt, dus hierbij:

ik ben best beschikbaar als trainer van Ajax.
November 6, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
“𝗠𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.”

Albania is closer than ever to joining the EU – yet it’s also one of Europe’s most thriving drug hubs – run by mafia networks.

What’s happening? And why does Brussels keep turning a blind eye?

🔗 Read why it matters across Europe: www.ftm.eu/articles/alb...
Brussels turns blind eye as Albania’s drug empire threatens Europe
Under Prime Minister Edi Rama, Albania has become a narco-state over the past 10 years. Albanian criminal networks are increasingly active in Europe. Yet, the EU continues to support Rama's efforts to...
www.ftm.eu
November 6, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🇧🇪⚖️ 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨’𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 – charged with money laundering in Belgium after an October hearing with his wife.

Prosecutors say Reynders used lottery tickets and cash deposits to channel funds of unclear origin into his personal account.

Read the full story 👇:
Ex-EU justice chief Didier Reynders charged with money laundering
The charge comes after months of investigation.
www.ftm.eu
November 4, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🔥 Ex-EU justice chief Didier Reynders charged with money laundering. @ftm.eu SCOOP with @lesoir.be @standaard.be and Le Vif www.ftm.eu/articles/rey...
Ex-EU justice chief Didier Reynders charged with money laundering
The charge comes after months of investigation.
www.ftm.eu
November 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
🚨📱Under the EU’s DSA, X must report user-safety risks. Yet the platform hid data about child abuse and terrorism and now Brussels is helping to keep its reports confidential.

An EU watchdog is calling the Commission out for shielding the platform.

Read our update: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
November 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
Think Europe shapes its own policies? Think again. A third of Brussels’ 'independent' think tanks get millions from the U.S. and Big Tech to protect their interests and shape the EU agenda.

💭 Should foreign funding in EU think tanks be more transparent?

Read more: www.ftm.eu/articles/a-t...
November 4, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Tom Bolsius
Google, the world’s largest search engine operating three in four smartphones, has played Brussels like a fiddle – shaping laws, silencing rivals, and calling it "innovation". The chart shows how Big Tech bankrolls Brussels’ top think tanks.

Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
November 3, 2025 at 7:18 AM