Organized Crime And Corruption Reporting Project : Ο ανεξάρτητος δημοσιογραφικός οργανισμός που ξεσκεπάζει το διεθνές οργανωμένο έγκλημα χρειάζεται την υποστήριξή μας

 

Hello from Colombia, Investigating organized crime is not easy. We’ve been doing this work for the past 20 years, but it’s only in the last five years that we’ve really grasped the impact and scale of transnational criminal groups. Our journalists now have a better understanding of how they affect global supply chains and the massive, complicated infrastructure they use to move all kinds of contraband all over the world. In the world of transnational crime, “infrastructure” means two things: the physical operations that move illegal merchandise, like trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes; and the digital expertise needed to recruit and victimize people, shield transactions and identities, and evade authorities.  Here are a few things we’ve learned: It takes a long time to build up this global infrastructure but once it’s in place, it is used for multiple illegal activities and offered to other criminal groups. Some drug traffickers from the 1980s are still operating and have added services like money laundering to their menu of services.   The old criminals are sponsoring the new; I call them “criminal angel investors.” Just like in Silicon Valley except the support is for criminal operations instead of startups. Culprits who have amassed large amounts of capital in the last few decades will offer to help scale a successful cocaine smuggling ring, for example, giving more power to emerging gangs.   Members of Group America, a decades-old criminal organization with roots in New York and the Balkans that operates in dozens of countries.  With our partners, OCCRP has learned to work like these transnational criminal networks — coordinated, digitally, and across borders — in order to effectively expose them. Brave journalists are doing incredible work to deconstruct organized crime on a global scale.  But we need more resources to pursue this pervasive menace. I’m fortunate to work with hundreds of investigative reporters, data journalists, and technologists from all over the world who are focused on scrutinizing this scourge that destroys democracy and ruins the lives of so many people. And our network is growing. We recently hired a cybercrime editor who is following cryptocurrencies across digital divides. Criminals are early adopters of technology which means we need to be, too.  On #GivingNewsDay please help us continue to identify and analyze these criminal operations, investigate and reveal villains so law enforcement can act, and let people know how these damaging systems affect their daily lives.   Support Our Work Investigating Organized Crime. Donate Today. When you donate and become an OCCRP Accomplice, you’re not only joining our network and supporting our journalists and investigations. You’re bolstering a group of people who are tracking these hidden systems, recognizing patterns and trends, and who are not afraid to go after dangerous offenders and expose wrongdoing. Thanks for your help, Paul Radu Co-Founder and Chief of Innovation P.S. Our investigations continue to have real-world impact on organized crime. Our Riviera Maya Gang series resulted in convictions and the alleged head of the gang being put behind bars and our Group America stories resulted in the arrest of the alleged leader of the criminal clan in Queens, New York. With our Italian member center IRPIMedia and other partners, our ‘Ndrangheta package shows the big picture of one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations.