The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call today for increased global support for the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC).

Three frivolous lawsuits known as SLAPPS have been filed in the past month against OCCRP’s Serbian member center KRIK, making a total of 10 legal actions currently facing the Belgrade-based investigative media outlet. These SLAPPS, short for “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” which are brought against journalists in order to silence them, appear to be part of a coordinated campaign by political powers to weaken KRIK and further quash independent media in the country.

The team of journalists at KRIK. Credit: Oliver Bunic (NIN)

Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu will share insights and answer questions about the constantly evolving world of transnational crime and corruption on December 15, from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST.

YouTube has inexplicably removed a video uploaded by Kloop, an independent Kyrgyz media outlet and OCCRP member center. The platform also temporarily banned Kloop from posting any further videos on its channel during a critical election period.

OCCRP recently opened nominations for its annual Person of the Year award and has been flooded with worthy candidates. There’s still time if you have a suggestion.

Rumors of Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salame’s offshore wealth have swirled around Beirut for years. In 2020, OCCRP and Daraj.com revealed almost $100 million in overseas assets that Salame owned through a network of companies.

OCCRP is expanding editorial operations into the U.S. and Canada and has named award-winning investigative journalist Kevin G. Hall as its first North America editor. Hall will be based in Washington, D.C., and will lead OCCRP investigations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He will also work with more than 40 editors around the world on cross-border investigations and build collaborations and partnerships with key North American media outlets.

Kevin G. Hall.

Russia’s government on Friday named IStories Media a “foreign agent,” ramping up a campaign that has seen some of the country’s top independent media outlets effectively blacklisted this year.

The staff of IStories. Credit: Istories.

Grand corruption in Gambia. State capture in South Africa. Rosewood plunder in Namibia. Azerbaijani weapon deals in Congo. A secret banking network in Angola.

On this World Press Freedom Day, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) stands with all members of the media who face threats for doing their jobs.