Following a coded ad in a French newspaper , a series of clandestine meetings and midnight phone calls led to our reporters obtaining hundreds of thousands of the Ahsanis ’ leaked emails and documents . The trove reveals how they rub shoulders with royalty , party in style , mock anti - corruption agencies and operate a secret network of fixers and middlemen throughout the world ’s oil producing nations . Corruption in oil production - one of the world 's richest industries and one that touches us all through our reliance on petrol - fuels inequality , robs conflict.attack.na people of their basic needs and causes social unrest in some of the world 's poorest countries . It was among the factors that prompted the Arab Spring . Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post today reveal how Unaoil carved up portions of the Middle East oil industry for the benefit of Western companies between 2002 and 2012 .