Uploaded May 2021 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
What does it take to keep a global, independent nonprofit media organization thriving in an era of constant change for the news industry? Path-breaking investigative journalists Marina Walker Guevara, Paul Radu and Miranda Patrucic talk about the OCCRP model and how to create a foundation for sustainability by building a solid body of work that people trust.
Marina Walker Guevara is executive editor at the Pulitzer Center. For the past 14 years, she held leadership positions at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a network of reporters in more than 90 countries who collaborate on stories of global concern. She managed the two largest collaborations of reporters in journalism history: the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers, which involved hundreds of journalists using technology to unravel stories of public interest from terabytes of leaked financial data. Walker Guevara was instrumental in developing ICIJ’s model of large-scale media collaboration, persuading reporters who used to compete with one another instead to work together, share resources and amplify their reach and impact. A native of Argentina, her investigations have won and shared more than 25 national and international awards, including honors from Long Island University’s George Polk Awards, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Overseas Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists and the European Commission.
Paul Radu is co-founder and chief of innovation at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He leads its major investigative projects, scopes regional expansion, and develops new strategies and technology to expose organized crime and corruption across borders. Paul initiated and led the award-winning Russian, Azerbaijani, and Troika Laundromat investigations, and coined the term “laundromat” to define large scale, all-purpose financial fraud vehicles that are used to launder billions of dollars.
Based in Sarajevo, Miranda Patrucic is deputy editor in chief for Central Asia. She most recently worked on the award-winning Plunder and Patronage in the Heart of Central Asia and the Matraimov Kingdom investigations, which resulted in protests that brought down the government in Kyrgyzstan. She has worked on investigations that exposed billions in telecom bribes in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan; revealed a €1.2 billion arms trade between Europe and the Gulf that fueled conflicts in the Middle East; and exposed ties between organized crime, government, and business in Montenegro.
The discussion is moderated by Yale Poynter Fellow Khadija Sharife, a South-Africa-based award-winning investigative journalist and senior editor for Africa at OCCRP. Sharife is the former director of the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers (PPLAAF) and currently also a board member of Finance Uncovered. She has worked with diverse forums including the Pan-African Parliament, the African Union, the OECD, and UNEP. Her work is focused on illicit financial flows, natural resources, and political economy. She is the author of “Tax Us If You Can: Africa.”
The OCCRP is a nonprofit investigative reporting platform for 50+ independent media outlets around the world, publishing more than 100 investigations a year. By developing and equipping a global network of investigative journalists and publishing their stories, OCCRP exposes crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account.
OCCRP investigations often result in major impact, such as closing a loophole in the financial system or sanctions against corrupt actors, and have contributed to $7.3 billion in fines levied and monies seized — illicitly acquired funds returned to the public sphere. While upholding the highest journalistic ethics and editorial standards, OCCRP develops and deploys cutting-edge tech tools to enable collaborative, secure data-driven investigations. With OCCRP Aleph, an investigative data platform powered by software we developed, journalists can search and cross-reference more than one billion records to trace criminal connections and patterns and efficiently collaborate across borders.
This presentation and discussion took place at Yale University on 30 April 2021. Opinions and statements expressed by event moderators and participants are their own personal views and do not represent the views of the university.
What does it take to keep a global, independent nonprofit media organization thriving in an era of constant change for the news industry? Path-breaking investigative journalists Marina Walker Guevara, Paul Radu and Miranda Patrucic talk about the OCCRP model and how to create a foundation for sustainability by building a solid body of work that people trust.
Marina Walker Guevara is executive editor at the Pulitzer Center. For the past 14 years, she held leadership positions at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a network of reporters in more than 90 countries who collaborate on stories of global concern. She managed the two largest collaborations of reporters in journalism history: the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers, which involved hundreds of journalists using technology to unravel stories of public interest from terabytes of leaked financial data. Walker Guevara was instrumental in developing ICIJ’s model of large-scale media collaboration, persuading reporters who used to compete with one another instead to work together, share resources and amplify their reach and impact. A native of Argentina, her investigations have won and shared more than 25 national and international awards, including honors from Long Island University’s George Polk Awards, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Overseas Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists and the European Commission.
Paul Radu is co-founder and chief of innovation at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He leads its major investigative projects, scopes regional expansion, and develops new strategies and technology to expose organized crime and corruption across borders. Paul initiated and led the award-winning Russian, Azerbaijani, and Troika Laundromat investigations, and coined the term “laundromat” to define large scale, all-purpose financial fraud vehicles that are used to launder billions of dollars.
Based in Sarajevo, Miranda Patrucic is deputy editor in chief for Central Asia. She most recently worked on the award-winning Plunder and Patronage in the Heart of Central Asia and the Matraimov Kingdom investigations, which resulted in protests that brought down the government in Kyrgyzstan. She has worked on investigations that exposed billions in telecom bribes in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan; revealed a €1.2 billion arms trade between Europe and the Gulf that fueled conflicts in the Middle East; and exposed ties between organized crime, government, and business in Montenegro.
The discussion is moderated by Yale Poynter Fellow Khadija Sharife, a South-Africa-based award-winning investigative journalist and senior editor for Africa at OCCRP. Sharife is the former director of the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers (PPLAAF) and currently also a board member of Finance Uncovered. She has worked with diverse forums including the Pan-African Parliament, the African Union, the OECD, and UNEP. Her work is focused on illicit financial flows, natural resources, and political economy. She is the author of “Tax Us If You Can: Africa.”
The OCCRP is a nonprofit investigative reporting platform for 50+ independent media outlets around the world, publishing more than 100 investigations a year. By developing and equipping a global network of investigative journalists and publishing their stories, OCCRP exposes crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account.
OCCRP investigations often result in major impact, such as closing a loophole in the financial system or sanctions against corrupt actors, and have contributed to $7.3 billion in fines levied and monies seized — illicitly acquired funds returned to the public sphere. While upholding the highest journalistic ethics and editorial standards, OCCRP develops and deploys cutting-edge tech tools to enable collaborative, secure data-driven investigations. With OCCRP Aleph, an investigative data platform powered by software we developed, journalists can search and cross-reference more than one billion records to trace criminal connections and patterns and efficiently collaborate across borders.
This presentation and discussion took place at Yale University on 30 April 2021. Opinions and statements expressed by event moderators and participants are their own personal views and do not represent the views of the university.
