Investigative reporting is getting harder and harder as autocratic governments crack down on media and government-friendly oligarchs use the courts to silence independent voices. The Philippine online news organization Rappler and its CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa are experiencing this firsthand, as Ressa was convicted last week on baseless “cyber libel” charges.

Maria Ressa speaking at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg, Germany, in September 2019. (Credit: Nick Jaussi)

The GKNB presents its findings in front of a special committee in the Kyrgyz parliament. Photo by: Screen capture, Kyrgyz parliament YouTube channel.

Earlier today, in front of a special committee of the Kyrgyz parliament, the country’s intelligence agency presented the preliminary results of an investigation that was triggered by a reporting project released in November by RFE/RL’s Radio Azattyk, OCCRP, and its local member center, Kloop.

Reports from OCCRP’s Global Network Illustrate New Threats in Face of COVID-19 — Citizens Suffer as a Result.

A panel of eight experts in the field of organized crime, corruption and terrorism will select OCCRP’s 2019 Person of the Year.

OCCRP is accepting nominations for the 2019 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption. Please nominate the global figure you believe has earned the title of OCCRP’s “person of the year’’ based on their own corrupt behavior or their “contribution” to organized crime and corruption anywhere in the world this year.

We at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and our member centers were shocked by the brutal murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiance, Martina Kušnírová, on Feb. 21, 2018.

A tribute to Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Credit: OCCRP)

UNESCO’s celebrations for World Press Freedom Day in Addis Ababa this week are meant to recognize an important turnaround for press freedom in one of the world’s least free countries. Since coming to power last year, Ethiopia’s new prime minister Abiy Ahmed has begun to reform its oppressive political system, releasing imprisoned journalists and lifting bans on independent outlets.

Protesters mark World Press Freedom Day in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

A €230 billion money laundering scandal put Danske Bank ahead of a record 22 other contenders to win the 2019 Corrupt Actor of the Year award from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) enthusiastically welcomes a promising new partnership with Luminate, the global philanthropic organization focused on empowering people and institutions to work together to build just and fair societies. Luminate’s investment of up to $800,000 over two years comes at a pivotal time for OCCRP as we work to expand our investigative reporting globally and bolster our in-house tech tools and organizational capacity. This critical core support will help OCCRP to strengthen the platform of editorial, technical, legal, and security services we provide to our network of 45 member centers around the world and to advance our wider mission of building greater accountability by exposing the abuse of power at the expense of the people.

Photo: Luminate

“Funding for investigative reporting and its global development is vital to both journalism and democracy. We thank Luminate for their support and look forward to working together as we take the next step,” said OCCRP Editor-in-Chief Drew Sullivan. “Corrupt officials and the globalized criminal services industry have tens of billions of dollars at their disposal. Those working to turn the tables operate on much less. We must all be smarter, more committed, and more innovative in our efforts to make a difference and this kind of core support helps OCCRP to do that at a critical time.”

“Today’s world needs journalistic watchdogs that transcend borders to expose organized crime and corruption and to hold those in power to account,” said Nishant Lalwani, Director at Luminate. “OCCRP has proven to be especially effective at bringing analytical power to detecting corruption and crime patterns not easily visible to the human eye. We’re excited to see OCCRP grow as an organization capable of supporting an increasingly global network and independent media at a time of unrelenting threats.”

Formerly the Government & Citizen Engagement initiative at Omidyar Network, Luminate launched this month as a global philanthropic organization whose investees and grantees deliver impact in four critical and connected areas that underpin strong societies – Civic Empowerment, Data & Digital Rights, Financial Transparency and Independent Media. The focus of Luminate’s work on independent media is to support and defend a vibrant, free press that uncovers the truth and holds power to account.

Luminate was established in October 2018 by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay and is part of The Omidyar Group.

For more information please contact Stella Roque, Chief Communications Officer at stella@occrp.org

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) deems copyright reform necessary for meeting the demands of the digital age and to ensure publishers can more effectively protect their content online. But the proposed Articles 11 and 13 of the current draft of the Copyright Directive, to be voted on by the European Parliament (EP) tomorrow, could significantly harm independent media – and investigative journalism.

Photo by: Marten Bjork, Unsplash