In this review of the best investigations in Russian and Ukrainian last year, the GIJN Russian team selected the stories that shed light on systemic societal problems in many countries in the region, and those which may inspire journalists in other parts of the world to investigate corruption, money laundering, and other topics using the same investigative methods and tools.
The Ukrainian investigative group Bihus.info has built a name for itself investigating corruption. It formed in the aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution, as journalists tried to piece together some of the documents destroyed and damaged by the former regime. Today, they are battling a tough media freedom environment and investigations into their own staff and reporters which slow them down and which they see as an effort to pressure them in relation to their reporting.
A network of female journalists went undercover in order to investigate what women and girls around the world are told when they approach a crisis pregnancy organization. Some were told they could be killing the next president, others than abortions cause cancer. The investigation revealed the highly sophisticated tactics some centers use to break a woman’s resolve, and how the messaging can be traced back to a Christian charity based in Columbus, Ohio.
GIJN in Russian Editor Olga Simanovych focused her selection on stories that used innovative approaches or new tools, or shed light on topics not usually covered.
Ukraine’s largest bank is taking its battle with its former owners to US shores. In a civil lawsuit filed in the state court of Delaware, PrivatBank accuses Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, the billionaires who owned the bank before it was nationalized three years ago, of large-scale money laundering in the United States.
A wave of misinformation is flooding the region, much of it courtesy of agencies backed by the Russian government. Olga Yurkova, co-founder of StopFake, writes for GIJN about how Ukrainian civil society is taking the fake news epidemic head on — with a little help from their (Western) friends.
Here’s 76 pages — filed in US federal court today — of excruciating detail on how former Trump presidential campaign chief Paul Manafort laundered millions of dollars from Ukraine and elsewhere between 2006 and 2015, using scores of “corporations, partnerships, and bank accounts” in the US, Grenadines, and UK.
The documentary “Killing Pavel” won the prestigious IRE Medal this weekend. Top Ukranian journalist Dmytro Gnap shares tips for effectively collecting the CCTV footage which played a key role in the investigation.
An arsonist attempted to burn down the Rivne Investigative Reporting Agency in western Ukraine on Thursday evening, according to staff members and associates. An unknown attacker entered the newsroom’s first floor office, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it ablaze. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network joins OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović in calling for the immediate release of Natalya Kokorina, an editor with GIJN member Crimean Centre for Investigative Journalism. Ms. Kokorina was detained today by authorities in Crimea.
