The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in the Western Balkans
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in the Western Balkans

Summary/Abstract: The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) was established in 2005 in response to the reality that criminals working in complex networks are moving faster than law enforcement across borders, thus evading detection. Through mentorship, security training, and by providing international editors and research resources, OCCRP is developing a cadre of investigative reporters in countries around the world. Despite distance and different languages, the journalists connected by OCCRP coordinate reporting efforts, follow money trails, track leads, undertake surveillance and compare notes regardless of national borders. In this way relationships and connections between criminals and top government officials that might have stayed hidden are being unearthed. As the Western Balkan countries seek EU membership, OCCRP’s investigations in the region are providing evidence that these countries have serious problems which need to be addressed. People linked to criminals or even criminals themselves hold political posts and are protected. Montenegro has become a state where government representatives work alongside organized crime, while Serbia’s leading politicians have been implicated in high-profile corruption scandals. In recent years a sharp decline in press freedom has obstructed journalists’ work in the Balkans. They have found themselves the subject of smear campaigns, threats and law suits orchestrated by the targets of their anti-corruption investigations.

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