Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Our Problem

Kleptocracy, organized crime, and corruption gross $3 trillion+ a year, according to the UN and Nasdaq. Societies pay the price as funding for critical needs—such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure—are laundered into offshore wealth, harming citizens and nations alike. Vulnerable populations are affected the most.

Globalization has empowered bad actors. The ability to move money across borders with one click of a button, obscure its origin behind layers of shell companies, and once invested in legitimate and illegitimate enterprises renders investigations extremely difficult and expensive. Money stolen from Nigeria can be laundered through the Seychelles and invested in Paris within days. Fentanyl sourced in China can be processed in Mexico and sold in the U.S. Money stolen from the Russian people can flow into U.S. hedge funds and end as campaign contributions.

Law enforcement cannot easily track activity across borders, because of jurisdictional barriers and political constraints.

But journalists can.

Our Solution

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP, is one of the world’s largest investigative journalism organizations. Our team of veteran editors, data specialists, and tech and security experts, works with an alliance of 70+ investigative centers and 60+ publishing partners to reveal the people and entities involved in corruption, organized crime, and kleptocracy.

Over the last 18 years, OCCRP has produced more than a thousand investigations that have led to significant results, including 135 high-level sackings and resignations, 778 indictments and sentences, and $11+ billion in illicit gain returned to the public sphere.

Three innovations play a crucial role in our success to date:

Our follow-the-money methodology, which produces rigorous reporting and actionable evidence;
Our global network, which allows us to follow leads across borders and regions; and
Our investigative technology, which helps us process vast amounts of public and leaked data and map criminal connections and patterns.

From beginnings in the Balkans, we now have a thin presence on six continents. Our goal is to scale our operation and impact. This involves training journalists in countries with no investigative media and expanding our editorial, data, tech, and security capacities to handle a greater volume of investigations. We will adapt our methodology to local realities, while maintaining our standards and integrity and fostering cross-border collaboration.

Within five years, we expect to produce 200+ investigations a year. The increased volume would help trigger 70+ indictments and sentences and recover $1B+ to the public sphere, alongside empowering citizens to hold those in power to account.

Team & Project Resources

About Our Team

Spanning six continents, OCCRP’s 150+ member team includes editors, data specialists, researchers, technologists, and security experts with in-depth expertise. Our team is gender-balanced and reflects the complex audiences we serve.

Team Leads