Today we named our ”Person of the Year” in Organized Crime and Corruption.

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OCCRP


** Hello Member Centers!
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** Network event
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As our annual network event is approaching, we hope you pitched your session ideas and figured out all the logistic details we need from you. If you still haven’t RSVP’d to Aldin’s inquiries, please let him know:
* The full names of staff you want to bring, indicating who is a young/new journalist and list names in order of your priority. Please also let us know if you need extra/less hotel nights (most people will arrive on August 22nd and depart on August 26th)
* If you need a flight stipend and roughly how much your flights would cost (per flight) and what portion you need covered
* If you need a visa or support letter to book travel for your team
* If you require any kind of extra security measures

The OCCRP network event is a chance to showcase your recent work, meet new people (including those from our new member centers), and lead and attend interactive sessions on new forms of storytelling, investigative tooling, and a variety of other topics. We will also have a party and some lighter elements throughout the weekend. We have been going through the session pitches and are really impressed by the quality. We will be notifying those who pitched sessions about approvals in the next couple weeks.


** New Member Centers
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This month, OCCRP welcomed 15 new member centers ([link removed]) and one regional partner to the network, meaning OCCRP now has 67 member centers around the world. This is in addition to four regional partners (networks of reporters that we regularly collaborate with on investigations).

One of the new member centers, Public Record ([link removed]) from Romania, was not ready by the time this announcement was sent out. We wish them a warm welcome as well!


** Network News
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KRIK Under Attack

Our member center, KRIK, is under attack from lawsuits aimed at stopping their work!
In the most recent case, Judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade, Dušanka Đorđević, has filed two lawsuits against KRIK over the database “Judge Who Judges” in which they investigated Serbian judiciary, including her work. In the lawsuits she filed together with her husband for alleged violation of the right to privacy, the judge seeks not only monetary compensation but also a two-year occupational ban for KRIK journalists and 10 months prison sentences.

KRIK would be grateful if you could support them in any way: by posting the news and supporting them on your social media, republishing their news about the lawsuits and what is happening in Serbia, issuing public statements, or informing people, associations, or anyone who you think can help them. Here ([link removed]) you can read more about this case and how to donate.

IRPI Published a Book

In April, IrpiMedia published an online series of four multimedia investigations/reportages that were part of an experiment in community journalism, Senza Segnale (No Signal) project. The project, though, goes well beyond the online publications: it has become a book (the first ever printed book by IrpiMedia) with a strong visual identity, that includes photos, sketches by an architect, a graphic novel and an openable map, and it will also become an exhibition with live events hosted around Italy.

Goulash Newsletter

If you want to read more stories from Central Europe, subscribe to Goulash ([link removed]) , original VSquare newsletter!

CINS awarded with Dejan Anastasijević Award

At this year's "Dejan Anastasijević" Investigative Journalism Awards ceremony, CINS journalists were presented with three awards ([link removed]) . CINS’s trio of journalists – Ivana Milosavljević, Teodora Ćurčić, and Vladimir Kostić – are also the winners of this year's Ethical Journalism Award ([link removed]) , presented by ARTICLE19.

New Investigation from Bird

Bird’s new investigation ([link removed]) is making headlines one week ahead of the European and Parliament elections. There will be a parliamentary hearing of the PM next week following their revelations.

ICJK Awarded Slovak National Journalism Prizes

Our member center Investigation Center of Ján Kuciak received two Slovak national journalism prizes this year. One is in the category Investigative journalism, which they won for the 4th consecutive year (since 2021). The prize was awarded for investigation project #Espiomats which was conducted with a group of journalists from around Europe including Holger from Delfi, Frontstory.pl as well as Direkt 36 and others. The second one is prize for Innovative journalism for the investigation into the deep fake that was spread in Slovakia before the parliamentary elections, which uncovered the source of the deepfake that included the voice of prominent journalists and "coincidences" with activities with Russian actors and secret services.


** Security Briefing
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Welcome to the May security brief. While some of you, including myself, are already in the beach state of mind, in this edition I would like to talk about big international projects and the problems of securing them. Also, for those of you who are drivers, we’ll go over some vehicle security basics.
* Big projects, sometimes involving 100+ journalists from all over the world, are helping to make OCCRP literally a household name — at least in some places. (I can’t get over my own experience in Ukraine, where after the 2016 Panama Papers blockbuster some elderly ladies — market vendors — raised carrot prices because of “offshores.”)
* But it’s not market vendors that I’m most concerned about here.
* It is literally impossible to assess the risks our reporters or partners run locally, since there are so many. Plus, despite our best intentions to make sure everybody, no matter who or where, is safe, some stories only get published locally — making it even harder to be aware of all the risk factors.
* So the thing to do is start early: with an all hands meeting about security.
* Remember, for most people on the call, this may be their first security conversation ever. It will cover the following:
* What to be aware of
* The stages at which specific security protocols are needed
* Establishing a timetable for regular (weekly or biweekly) security checkups, where any project participant can join and discuss concerns.
* Establishing whom to contact in case of emergency
* Making sure that everybody understands it’s not only possible but right to get in touch. Because many journalists will be hesitant…you know how it goes.
* This last point is extremely important, as we don’t want anybody to learn of risk only post-publication. That does nobody any good. Even in the best case scenario, it adds stress to an already incredibly challenging job.

Now let’s get to your vehicles. Vehicle security is a special topic for me, since this was my first security-related job, when back in 2016 we investigated how our colleague Pavel Sheremet was murdered by an improvised explosive device (IED) placed in his car. [link removed] That’s why, when any of you start working on something sensitive and I find out that you drive, I take it very seriously. And so must you!
* Please watch this video, which is basically a manufacturer's tutorial for placing tracking devices in your vehicle. [link removed] Try to understand the logic of how it’s done:
* usually at night (note the security term “golden hour” 3-4 am, when sleep is deepest).
* at arm’s length, because the device is magnetic: it has to connect to metal, but its top has to have air access in order to receive a satellite signal.
* When it comes to IEDs, placement is either in the left front wheel arch (sloppy), or on the bottom of the car underneath the driver’s seat.
* If the perpetrators are professional, they might try to place the devices inside the car, which makes it more challenging to discover.
* But here is what you can do:
* Next time you service the car, try to raise it on a rack and inspect the bottom.
* Try to figure out what would be the vulnerable area, based on the arm’s length and metal/air requirement. (Usually, this would be front and rear bumpers, where you can reach inside easily.)
* Take pictures of the bottom of your car: this is how it should look.
* From time to time, do a cursory search of your vehicle before driving. Make sure you have a blanket in your truck so you can lie down flat and inspect the sensitive areas.
* Use a mobile phone on a selfie stick for hard-to-reach places. Compare the footage to the photos you took at the repair shop.

In order to counter placement either outside or inside the vehicle, the following tips are also helpful:
* Consider installing a voice activated recorder ([link removed]) for when you leave the car at night — but make sure you actually listen to it before driving. Any noise that suggests your car has been tampered with should be investigated.
* Ideally, try to park your car in a secure CCTV monitored location.
* Use security seals: for example, a very short bit of tape cut ¾ths of the way through the middle. Place it at the bottom of the driver’s door. Take a photo. Check what it looks like when you return.
* Put UV spray ([link removed]) on the door handles when you leave the car for the night. Take photos while using a UV flashlight. Inspect the handles in the morning and compare them to the photos.

Remember, none of this applies if your car has been seized by authorities, or other hostile parties. Just spending a single day in their hands will leave your car totally untrustworthy. So selling it would be the only option. Drive safe!

Vlad Lavrov, Security Editor


** InfoSurvey
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The product team for investigative tooling is researching how journalists, editors, researchers and fact checkers work with factual information.

We want to learn more about how you work with the key facts that you discover during an investigation, and how we can better assist you throughout the investigative process.

We've put together the following survey, and would very much appreciate it if you could take five minutes to provide us with your insights. The information you provide will help us to better organize the work that we're doing, and enable us to provide better, more relevant tools to assist you in the investigative process.

Most of the questions are optional: if there is something you don't want to answer please feel free to skip forward.

Any data you do provide will be enormously helpful.

Here’s the survey, ([link removed]) and thank you!

Steve Haffenden, Aleph Lead, and Mehdi Talbi, Senior Developer


** 💵 Upcoming funding opportunities
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JUNE 1, Visegrad + Grants ([link removed])

JUNE 13, EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024


** And finally…
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Please provide feedback and send any topics or news that you would like to see featured to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) and [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Thank you for being part of the OCCRP network and please reach out if we can assist you in any way.

Warm regards from Sarajevo,


** Gordana
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Member Center Coordinator


** Aldin
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Member Center Assistant
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