Sambo Dasuki, a prominent Nigerian accused of money laundering, bought a horse farm in Aiken in 2002, a transaction that opens a window into Aiken's unusual history as a magnet for rich horse lovers, while raising questions about how wealthy people with questionable pasts park money in U.S. real estate.
POWER & POLO
Prominent Nigerian politicians accused of raiding government coffers in their country have family and corporate links to properties worth millions of dollars in the Carolinas, including a tract in Spartanburg with a nearly $108,000 tax delinquency bill, a new Uncovered project reveals.
Aiken's notable equestrian investors include the ruler of Dubai, a Russian oligarch and a Nigerian oil tycoon.
Statewide revelations
State moves to take control of Jasper Co. schools, citing leadership failures and financial disarray
S.C. Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver declared her intention to take control of the Jasper County School District, citing leadership failures and financial disarray.
S.C. Department of Revenue audit of a restricted Jasper County School District account revealed that officials misspent more than $4.1 million collected through a decades-old penny tax.
A S.C. inspector general report into a Lowcountry school district revealed financial mismanagement, oversight failures and conflicts of interest. Is a state takeover coming?
The Jasper County Board of Education chose to release Superintendent Rechel Anderson from her contract for more than $336,000, despite voting to fire her for cause in October.
In the spring of 2023, the Jasper County School District lured a Jamaican teacher from her island home, promising long-term employment in the U.S., but school officials didn't follow through.
Letter sent to fired Jasper County Superintendent Rechel Anderson reveals findings of an investigation kept under wraps for months.
The city of Sumter built a welcome center as part of an ongoing push to preserve land around Shaw Air Force Base, but documents obtained by The Post and Courier reveal a camouflaged feature of the project.
Inspector General Brian Lamkin opened an investigation into the Jasper County School District following a request from state Superintendent Ellen Weaver, who recently placed the district on fiscal emergency.
Two former Hampton County officials are accused of embezzling $13,485, a tiny portion of the $5.1 million long missing from the county coffers.
A tiny agency nestled in rural McCormick County has been scrutinized for years over how it doles out tax dollars and the records it keeps of that spending. Leaders of S.C.'s youngest governor's school say that's all in the past, pointing to a positive audit report.
Residents in Hampton County are one step closer to finding answers for the millions long-missing from the local government's coffers, though local tensions still simmer.
Elected officials in Williamsburg County received hundreds of thousands in overtime pay. A state law prohibits salaried officers from receiving additional compensation for working extra hours.
Jasper County School Superintendent Rechel Anderson denied wrongdoing in her first public statement since the district board placed her on administrative leave.
The Jasper County Board of Education voted to place Superintendent Rechel Anderson on administrative leave. Spending records show district officials used procurement cards to travel around the state, country and world.
Hampton County's annual audit revealed weaknesses in the local government's accounting policies and record keeping. The county delayed commencing the highly anticipated forensic audit, which residents have requested for years.
At least six of South Carolina’s elected clerks of court have treated themselves to bonuses or boosted their pay using little-watched pots of federal money intended to support children and families, a Post and Courier investigation has found.
An audit would quell years of discontent in Hampton, where county leaders in 2022 admitted they could not account for at least $4.6 million in restricted funds.
A job worth $1,500 at a Spartanburg County-based consulting firm landed the former leader of a governor's school in hot water with the State Ethics Commission.
Sheriff Anthony Russell asked the State Law Enforcement Division to audit his department in January 2023 after discovering its inventory didn't match the invoices it had paid.
The sheriff's letter indicates that law enforcement had taken an interest in Hampton County’s financial mess earlier — and their concerns ran deeper — than previously known.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating potential criminal misconduct in Hampton County government, authorities said.
Members of the Hampton County legislative delegation told the governor they were “exceedingly concerned” about the county’s financial situation.
The S.C. Department of Revenue did not take notice of the county's missing spending reports, even as it blew through more than 30 deadlines.
Investigators have spent untold hours in Hampton unwinding Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes. A group of locals wishes they would take a look at county government, too.
McBee’s story spans 16 lawsuits and investigations by five state and federal agencies. It’s a case study of how communities lose faith in institutions and how their public life frays once they do.
Latarcha K. Wilson, who held the rank of captain, resigned her position four days after the June 3 traffic stop. The incident only recently came to light. Wilson had worked for the detention center for 17 years, state documents show.
The project produced more than 70 stories to date, spawning reform initiatives and at least 10 state investigations and audits in the process.
Summerton has a difficult task ahead: to convince residents that the water is OK.
Alpha Genesis Inc., a company that breeds thousands of monkeys in Yemassee for research, recently landed a new federal contract to run another large monkey colony on Morgan Island in the ACE Basin.
A SLED investigation found S.C. State University's police department made missteps in an investigation into the death of Amya Carr last spring, but that its probe found no evidence of foul play.
Real impact
York County Natural Gas Authority, a public agency highlighted in The Post and Courier's Uncovered project, tightened travel restrictions in the wake of reports that board members and staff jetted off to far-flung locales where they and their spouses dined at pricey restaurants, flew down zip lines and took glass-blowing lessons — all on the ratepayers' tab.
The vote comes two months after The Post and Courier reported that SLED doesn’t employ a single white-collar crimes investigator, a void that has hamstrung the agency’s ability to bring cases against crooked politicians and public officials.
With time running out, S.C. lawmakers say they remain committed to cracking down on free-spending special government districts and giving the state's top law enforcement agency the money it needs to investigate public corruption.
A Post and Courier-led Uncovered investigation into local government waste and misconduct has spurred agencies to reconsider their spending practices as South Carolina's governor and lawmakers call for heightened scrutiny.
Stirred by revelations that a broken system of oversight paved the way for corruption and other abuses, Upstate lawmakers say they will call for more scrutiny of South Carolina's hundreds of special government districts.
The utility will lose its $5,000 deposit for Grove Park Inn, but it avoids spending nearly three times that amount on a trip that drew public criticism.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and at least four lawmakers are calling for more scrutiny and fewer ethics loopholes for the state's many special purpose districts in the wake of a Post and Courier report that painted a portrait of free-spending agencies with little oversight.
State officials identified new unauthorized purchases at John de la Howe School for Agriculture in McCormick County, continuing a pattern of questionable practices at the public boarding school.
Lingering questions haunt South Carolina's newest governor's school, the sprawling John de la Howe School for Agriculture near Lake Thurmond.
Hot
Top John de la Howe officials, including the school’s president, used private email accounts as they planned to retaliate against a whistleblower and hid other key decisions during the state agriculture school's infancy, a new Uncovered investigation found.
New lawsuit by ex-Governor's School employee claims school officials retaliated after he spoke out about corruption.
Top Story
A single sheet of paper contains four typed statements — each signed by a different employee — detailing concerns about how Frank Dorn managed workers and handled animals at the state's fledgling governor's school.
Some South Carolina lawmakers said they were shocked about revelations in Uncovered report that exposed questionable spending and bidding practices as the S.C. Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe.
Leaders of the S.C. Governor's School of Agriculture at John de la Howe met behind closed doors for nearly three hours April 27 in the wake of a Post and Courier Uncovered report about questionable spending and bidding practices. When they emerged, they said they'd done everything above board even as they said they weren't aware of an official's business ties to a contractor that won work at the school.
Top Story
The State Law Enforcement Division has launched an investigation into the finances of the City of Chester, following an initial inquiry and the suspension of the three police officers, the News & Reporter revealed on Feb. 23.
About Power and Polo
“Polo and Power” is the first story in a series that asks: Who is your neighbor? Politicians from countries where corruption is endemic regularly park their money overseas in reasonably secure assets, like real estate. And research shows that the United States does little to prevent these outside actors. To explore this issue, The Post and Courier partnered with Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Houston Chronicle.
About Uncovered
Corruption has flourished in South Carolina as newspapers close and shrink, creating news deserts and ghost papers across the Palmetto State. It’s part of a national trend that has deprived hundreds of communities of a vital watchdog of taxpayer dollars and democracy.
The Post and Courier’s latest project, “Uncovered,” aims to fill some of that void, particularly in small towns where officials receive less scrutiny.
We will partner with small, community newspapers or news organizations to investigate potential abuses of power, misuse of taxpayer dollars and reports of misconduct. We have a team of six reporters dedicated to working with community journalists on this task.
We will publish those stories in tandem with our community partners so that information can reach the widest possible audience. All of these stories will be available to our readers and theirs without a subscription.
Our aim is to shine the brightest light possible on conduct that is holding our state back, benefitting the few at the expense of the many. News organizations interested in teaming up with us on this journey should contact Watchdog and Public Service Editor Glenn Smith at gsmith@postandcourier.com.
Our Partners For “Uncovered”, The Post and Courier is proud to partner with The Anderson Observer, The (Barnwell) People-Sentinel, The (Chester) News & Reporter, The (Orangeburg) Times and Democrat, The (Greenwood) Index-Journal, Aiken Standard, The Kingstree News, The Newberry Observer, Lancaster News, The Easley Sentinel-Progress, The Independent Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield, Pickens County Courier, Latino Newspaper, The Sumter Item, The Laurens County Advertiser, The Charleston Chronicle, The Gaffney Ledger and the Pageland Progressive Journal.
The Post and Courier has developed this citizens toolbox for using the Freedom of Information Act to access public records in South Carolina. Read moreCitizens toolbox for obtaining public records in South Carolina
Our new project "Uncovered" seeks to expose government misdeeds across the state and especially in small towns. Have you witnessed abuses of power? We want to hear from you.
Corruption explained
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From our Editorial Staff
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Top Story
Shane Stuart's tenure as Chester County's top elected official was fraught with allegations of improper spending and misuse of his powerful position even before the county supervisor was indicted last month on charges of manufacturing and trafficking meth.
Top Story
Newspaper editors and First Amendment lawyers say they have seen a surge of exorbitant FOIA costs, especially from local police agencies, school boards and city and county councils.
Top Story
Charleston County suspended Master-in-Equity Mikell Scarborough's spending card and launched an internal review after inquiries from The Post and Courier.
Top Story
A Columbia councilwoman netted tens of thousands in public money for legal work on bond contracts from the school board her husband chairs.
Top Story
Magistrate Angel Underwood was reappointed to the bench, despite a suspension. Complaints say her ethical conflicts have only continued.
Top Story
In the magistrate courts of South Carolina, citizens often must fend for themselves before judges lacking formal training in the law and whose errors can result in punishing consequences for defendants.
Top Story
Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland used county tax dollars for a $1,500 Myrtle Beach hotel charge this summer for what he said was a separate room for his children during a sheriffs conference.
Top Story
The former CFO of the Berkley County School District, was sentenced to 11 years in state prison Friday after pleading guilty to 37 counts relating to embezzlement that has been described as possibly the largest public embezzlement scheme in South Carolina.
Top Story
Ethics complaints against the state’s circuit judges are buried in an opaque system that shields the accused.
Top Story
South Carolina sheriffs dipped into public money to pay for luxury accommodations and broke laws they swore to uphold, a Post and Courier investigation found.
Top Story
A South Carolina prosecutor’s office racked up thousands of dollars in charges on these items and other perks — on the taxpayers' dime, newly released records show.
Top Story
An investigation into corruption at the Statehouse has taken aim at South Carolina’s command-and-control center – a network of power brokers and lawmakers who, if the allegations are true, milked the system of hundreds of thousands of dollars by skirting the state’s loose ethic laws.