Panama Papers wins a Pulitzer Prize

ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle spoke to The Age investigative journalist Nick McKenzie at the Melbourne Press Club in August 2016


The global Panama Papers investigation led by Australian journalist Gerard Ryle has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.

The Pulitzer board praised the year-long investigation for “using a collaboration of more than 300 reporters on six continents to expose the hidden infrastructure and global scale of offshore tax havens.”

The investigation was spearheaded by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. ICIJ director Gerard Ryle is a former Fairfax editor and senior investigative journalist.

“This honor is a testament to the enterprise and teamwork of our staff and our partners here in the United States and around the world,” Ryle said. 

“We’re honored that the Pulitzer Board recognized the groundbreaking revelations and worldwide impact that the Panama Papers collaboration produced.”

The Panama Papers investigation exposed offshore companies linked to more than 140 politicians in more than 50 countries – including 14 current or former world leaders. It also uncovered offshore hideaways tied to major bankscorporate bribery scandalsdrug kingpinsSyria’s air war on its own citizens and a network of people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin that shuffled as much as $2 billion around the world.

Ryle noted that the investigation would not have been possible without the work of Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier, two German journalists who received the original leak from a confidential source.

To see the full event video with Gerard Ryle, click here.

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