A New Voice Joining TED: OCCRP on Journalism, Justice, and Democratic Resilience

"Follow the money to find the truth." It’s a phrase that sounds deceptively simple—until you realise the trail meanders through shell companies in secretive jurisdictions, corrupted political actors in democratic systems, shadow fleets crossing international waters, and financial loopholes exploited by organised crime networks that operate with impunity across borders. This is the terrain that the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) navigates every single day.

Founded as a nonprofit investigative newsroom and now based in Amsterdam, OCCRP has grown into one of the most consequential investigative journalism organisations in the world—a network of 75 independent media outlets spanning the EU, the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific. With over 100 investigations published annually, OCCRP has helped expose more than 1,000 cases of organised crime and corruption, contributing to 140 high-level resignations, 803 indictments or sentences, and the recovery of $12 billion in public funds.

At a moment when the V-Dem Democracy Report confirms that autocracies now outnumber democracies for the first time in over two decades, and when Reporters Without Borders tells us that countries rated "good" for press freedom have collapsed from 26 in 2015 to just 7 in 2025, OCCRP's work sits squarely at the intersection of essential democratic ingredients which are becoming harder to find: accountability, rule of law, media freedom, and the protection of civic space. We are delighted to welcome OCCRP to the TED Network, where they will contribute to both Working Group 1 on Accountability and Rule of Law, and Working Group 3 on Media and Digital.

We sat down with OCCRP's Editor in Chief Miranda Patrucic to learn more about the organisation, the state of the field, why they decided to join TED and what exchanges can we look forward to in the future.

TED Secretariat: OCCRP has built a reputation for going after complex and difficult stories that other newsrooms have been reluctant to open — from Russia's shadow fleet to cyberfraud empires to Venezuela's laundered oil revenues. Can you walk us through OCCRP's way of work, and what makes your model distinctive in the field of investigative journalism?

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OCCRP: First, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. We are thrilled to join the TED network, contribute to the working groups, and learn what others are achieving in this space. 
OCCRP is one of the largest investigative organizations in the world. But also, we serve as an ecosystem supporting 75+ mostly small, independent media outlets around the world with services like access to investigative tech and tools, training opportunities, research and data, security, and fundraising. 
To tackle stories like Russia’s shadow fleet or global cyberfraud, you can’t rely on luck, you need infrastructure. We have invested years into building a world-class research and data team. Central to this is Aleph Pro, our vast data repository containing hundreds of leaks and databases and billions of records. Our journalists have access to commercial tools and databases that are usually out of reach for independent media. 
We are also unique because we don’t just do journalism, we build it. In addition to providing our network of member centres with everything from digital security to access to research, we also support them with specialized editors who have spent years tracking illicit money flows and hidden wealth. 
Our founders, Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu, saw early on that crime is borderless and journalists must be, too. Our model replaces “lone wolf” reporters with a transnational network. We pair local reporters, who have the essential context and on-the-ground knowledge with our editors who can follow the money across six continents.

TED Secretariat: One of the emerging topics you've flagged in your recent work is what you call "threat convergence" — the idea that authoritarianism, corruption, organised crime, and disinformation are increasingly acting in concert and across borders to undermine democratic systems. How do you see that dynamic playing out in the regions where your network is most active, and what does it mean practically for how you design and prioritise your investigations?

OCCRP: It’s not possible to cover organized crime, corruption, authoritarianism, disinformation, and other challenges separately anymore. These systems are being deployed in concert to advance the aims of powerful actors at the public’s expense. Organized crime is capturing the state and corrupting its officers; political leaders are sponsoring organized crime to expand their influence at home and abroad; repression and disinformation campaigns distract attention away from these machinations. Journalists have an advantage in that they can dig into these complex interactions, as our teams have done in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Serbia, Syria, and Venezuela.   

TED Secretariat: OCCRP is unusual in that you have an Impact Department that advances the downstream effect of your journalism — policy reform, resignations, sanctions designations, legal proceedings & confiscated funds. Through the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium with Transparency International, you've built bridges with over 150 civil society organisations to translate findings into action. Based on the impressive impact numbers in the introduction; how do you think about that accountability chain, and what have you learned about when investigative journalism actually changes things — and when it doesn't? 

OCCRP: As journalists, we know that impact is never guaranteed. Our primary duty is to the public and to the truth and to objectively uncover wrongdoing. However, we have realized long ago that the “publish and hope” model was no longer enough in a world of impunity and entrenched kleptocracy. 
We view the accountability chain as an ecosystem. Our reporting provides the evidentiary spark, but for the spark to become a fire of reform or change, you need to be strategic. That’s why we have built our Impact Department. It acts as a bridge to civil society, legal experts and policymakers ensuring that our findings land on the desks of those with power to act. We’ve expanded our Impact Department to work with all sorts of groups who are focused on protecting democracy and combating organized crime and corruption.   
We have learned some lessons on this by tracking our impact over many years. First is that cooperation helps bring about positive change. An evaluation of the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium found that when journalists and civil society work together, there is five times greater impact — and that means real-world results. 
The record also shows how uneven and unpredictable impact can be. We have reported for years on corruption by the leaders of certain countries, and yet those regimes remain firmly in control. In other instances, our reporting fed into wider political change. The gears of justice move slowly, too: last year we saw legal action against two powerful individuals in Europe based on wrongdoing that we uncovered nearly a decade ago. You just have to keep pushing, and remain insistent that exposing the truth will eventually drive positive change. 

TED Secretariat: The environment for independent media has arguably never been more hostile — SLAPPs, shrinking financial revenue for media, the weaponisation of foreign agent laws, and physical threats to journalists. You've responded with tools like Reporters Shield and the Journalism Cloud Alliance. How do you assess the state of the investigative journalism ecosystem right now, and what does survival look like for local outlets operating in the most difficult contexts?

OCCRP: I would describe the current state of investigative journalism as a dual reality. It has never been more dangerous or difficult to be a journalist, yet our community has never been more resilient. 
We are operating in the era of unprecedented hostility. The weaponization of laws is no longer a metaphor, more like a daily reality. Between SLAPPs and the aggressive expansion of the “foreign agent” laws, we are spending more time dealing with lawyers and talking to our security teams than ever before. 
The financial landscape is equally precarious. Following the 2025 cuts in U.S. government support, the funding for independent media dropped significantly. This required a strategic shift and in response we started a program called Revenue Axis, which helps investigative journalism outlets strengthen their revenue strategies and achieve long-term financial sustainability. We had 27 outlets in the first cohort. We are always looking for ways to work with others to bolster the ecosystem.
And as it became more difficult, we also discovered that strength is in collaboration, supporting each other and innovation. We have helped a number of journalists relocate to work in exile and some outlets are doing some of their best work from other countries.
We are also co-publishing and partnering on investigations at a scale we have never seen. If you target one reporter, 10 more take their place to finish the story. And we have also ensured that we stand in solidarity with our colleagues. The global network can’t be silenced. 

TED Secretariat: You've joined TED's network, as noted above, at a particularly charged moment. Where do you see OCCRP's contribution fitting within TED's collective exchange? And conversely, what do you hope to learn from TED's broader membership of Member States, EU institutions, and civil society organisations?

OCCRP: First, OCCRP brings unparalleled on-the-ground investigative capacity, offering the EU and Member States the kind of granular, evidence-based intelligence that can directly sharpen development program formulation and democracy promotion strategies. Second, our deep understanding — of the structural, legal, and financial pressures outlets face globally, and of organized crime and corruption practices and mechanisms — positions us as a valuable partner for TED's working groups on accountability, rule of law, and media and digitalization.
For OCCRP's network, joining TED means potentially stronger institutional backing for threatened journalists at a moment when the U.S. withdrawal of support has left journalists and independent outlets significantly more exposed. There is also an opportunity for greater amplification of our cross-border investigations and policy follow-through. 
Finally, the combination of institutional actors and civil society membership offers an opportunity to exchange, share and learn. OCCRP has long recognized that investigative journalism alone rarely drives change; it is the collaboration with allies that turns stories into advocacy, legal action, and reform. 

TED Secretariat: At first glance, an investigative newsroom as OCCRP is a clear link with Working Group 3 on Media and Digital — and indeed you're joining the group. But you've also signed up for Working Group 1 on Accountability and Rule of Law, which is exploring the terrain of good governance topics. What drew you to make this link? And more interestingly — where do you see the most fertile ground between the two groups? Are there conversations that can only happen when stakeholders from both sectors are in the same room?

OCCRP: Investigative journalism has proven itself as a powerful vector for delivering accountability and the rule of law: our reporting has helped bring about both legal actions and legal reforms. It also provides other stakeholders with the fresh, hard-to-get information they need to diagnose key governance shortcomings. Exchanging with other working group members about leading challenges and advances will help our reporting grow stronger and more responsive to leading trends, so it brings about even more such effects.

Certainly, issues of media and accountability are related: without a free and capable press, public accountability suffers greatly. A crucial question for both these groups is how, in today’s digital and political environment, can we support journalists to do their job and hold powerful players accountable, and then ensure those findings lead to meaningful change?

TED Secretariat: To close things, would you like to bring the Network’s attention to any upcoming pieces of work or events where we could find you present? 

OCCRP: We are looking to monetise data and journalism in new and innovative ways. We are looking at reinventing investigative reporting, new formats and interactivity that gives readers ability to deep dive into stories and issues. We are looking to build relationships and bring investigators and the public into investigative reporting. We are also developing innovative ways to connect with wider audiences through Floodlight Film and Floodlight Gaming, which are bringing the stories of investigative reporting to new audiences through television, film, and video games. The Illicit Finance Data Lab brings together the complementary skills of journalists and academic researchers to undertake ambitious new data projects.
But above all, please follow our reporting which brave and talented journalists are working so hard to produce every day. Our newsletter is a great way to stay up to date on our reporting, people can sign up at occrp.org.