African Parks is considered a great success story in conservation. The organisation, founded by Paul Fentener van Vlissingen and supported by the Dutch National Postcode Lottery, has taken over full authority from the state in more than twenty African nature reserves. It manages an area comparable to Britain, with support from western governments, the European Union and philanthropic billionaires. But all is not what it seems.

Olivier van Beemen (b. 1979) is an investigative journalist and writer.