Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

What Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project does

OCCRP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom founded in 2003 and headquartered in Washington, DC, with operations spanning Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It functions as a collaborative reporting network that produces cross-border investigations into organized crime and corruption in partnership with more than a dozen major media outlets (ZDF, Deutsche Welle, CBC/Radio-Canada, Paper Trail Media, Le Soir, KRIK, NRC, Der Standard, Investigace.cz, and others). Core output spans long-form investigations, scoops, news, features, multimedia documentaries, and podcasts across a multilingual surface (content translated into 9+ languages).

Its product surface centers on four branded assets: the main OCCRP newsroom and website; OCCRP Aleph, a dataset and document search platform available in free and paid Pro tiers; OCCRP ID, a research desk providing direct investigative support to journalists; and OCCRP Video, which produces documentaries and explainers. Sub-brands and projects include Scam Empire, Dear Compatriots, OpenLux, Cyprus Confidential, Crime Messenger, White Collars Dirty Hands, The Worldclear Files, Know Your Host (COP29), Uncensored Kyrgyzstan, and Bad Practice. A Digital Press Pass tool is in development with The Signals Network for verified anonymous source communication.

The organization is funded through a hybrid of individual memberships ($25/$50/$100 monthly tiers), one-time donations, foundation grants (including a disclosed $400,000 from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation in December 2023), development aid funding (controversially including USAID, per 2025 congressional testimony), and emerging SaaS-style revenue from Aleph Pro. Distribution occurs through OCCRP's owned channels (website, newsletter, YouTube, social platforms) plus republishing by partner media, with investigations having triggered concrete policy outcomes including Australian sanctions on Pravfond and an EU investigation into a Russian propaganda foundation.

Name

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Legal name

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Website

https://occrp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

OCCRP is a 501(c)(3) investigative journalism nonprofit that runs a global collaborative newsroom exposing organized crime and corruption through cross-border investigations, proprietary data tools (OCCRP Aleph, OCCRP ID), and partnerships with 12+ major media outlets worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investigative Journalism

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Investigative journalism
• Nonprofit newsroom
• Data research tools
• Cross-border reporting
• Anti-corruption investigations

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership and Donations: Monthly membership program with tiers at $25, $50, and $100 per month, providing exclusive benefits including access to briefings, events, and merchandise discounts. One-time donations also accepted.
2. Foundation and Institutional Grants: Funding from foundations and institutional donors including USAID (controversially, as reported in Congressional testimony).
3. Partnership and Collaboration: Revenue generation through collaborative investigations with partner media organizations, sharing resources and amplifying investigative reach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OCCRP is a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom that produces cross-border reporting on organized crime and corruption. It publishes investigative stories through its own platform and a global network of partner media outlets, and supports that reporting with proprietary data-research tools (OCCRP Aleph), a research-desk service (OCCRP ID), video reporting (OCCRP Video), and a Digital Press Pass for source protection.

Product overview

OCCRP operates as a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom that partners with media outlets globally to publish stories exposing organized crime and corruption. The core platform offers journalism content through its main website and provides specialized research tools including OCCRP Aleph for data search and OCCRP ID for journalist research support. Video content is delivered through OCCRP Video featuring documentaries and explainers. The organization conducts long-term investigative projects (such as Scam Empire, Dear Compatriots, OpenLux, Crime Messenger, Cyprus Confidential, and regional coverage of Venezuela, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan), along with podcasts like White Collars, Dirty Hands. Membership programs offer benefits including briefings and merchandise, supported by donations as a 501(c)(3) organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OCCRP Aleph: Search datasets, documents and uncover wrongdoing tool for journalists and researchers
• OCCRP ID
• OCCRP Video

Products and services

• OCCRP Aleph
• OCCRP ID Research Desk
• OCCRP Video
• OCCRP Digital Press Pass
• OCCRP Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Countries have launched probes and imposed sanctions following OCCRP investigations (e.g., Australia sanctions on Pravfond, EU investigation into Russian propaganda foundation)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Deutsche WellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor international broadcaster that collaborates with OCCRP on joint investigative projects, including the Belarusian dissident Anatol Kotau disappearance investigation.
• Belarusian Investigative CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelarusian investigative journalism organization that partners with OCCRP on investigations into Belarus-related matters including the Kotau disappearance.
• ZDF (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman public broadcaster participating in the Crime Messenger investigation project covering Sky ECC encrypted phones used by criminals.
• Paper Trail MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia partner in the Crime Messenger investigation project on Sky ECC encrypted communication devices.
• Le Soir, De Standaard, and RTBF (Belgium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian media consortium participating in the Sky ECC investigation covering encrypted phone use by organized crime.
• CBC/Radio-CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian public broadcaster partner in the Crime Messenger investigation into Sky Global encrypted communication devices.
• KRIK (Serbia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSerbian investigative journalism outlet (KRIK) that partnered on the Sky ECC investigation, including reporting on Serbian criminal networks using the encrypted phones.
• NRC (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch newspaper partner in the Crime Messenger project covering Sky ECC encrypted device use by criminals.
• Der Standard (Austria)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian newspaper partner in the Sky ECC investigation covering encrypted phone use by European organized crime.
• Investigace.cz (Czech Republic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCzech investigative journalism outlet partner in the Sky ECC investigation covering encrypted phone distribution through criminal networks.
• StudioFact and Télérama (France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench media partners in the Crime Messenger investigation covering Sky ECC phones and their use in European criminal operations.
• The Signals NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization collaborating with OCCRP to develop a Digital Press Pass tool that provides verified anonymity for citizens conducting investigations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): The ICIJ is the most direct peer: a global nonprofit network that coordinates cross-border investigative journalism projects among member newsrooms (e.g., Pandora Papers, Panama Papers). Like OCCRP, it operates on foundation/donor funding, distributes via partner media, and exposes cross-border financial crime — making missions, business models, and audiences nearly identical.
• Bellingcat: Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based open-source investigative journalism nonprofit with a comparable global footprint, donor-funded model, and emphasis on cross-border investigations (war crimes, sanctions evasion, corruption). It is a direct peer in scale, methodology (data-led investigation), and audience overlap with OCCRP.
• ProPublica: ProPublica is a U.S.-based nonprofit investigative newsroom funded by donations and foundations that publishes long-form accountability journalism. It shares OCCRP's 501(c)(3) status, donor/membership revenue model, and editorial focus on exposing wrongdoing, though its geographic scope is more U.S.-centric.
• The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: A UK-based, donor-funded nonprofit investigative newsroom that partners with global outlets on cross-border reporting (offshore finance, arms trafficking, corruption). Mission, funding model, and collaborative publishing approach closely mirror OCCRP's, making it a strong direct peer.
• The Intercept: The Intercept is an online outlet that publishes adversarial, accountability-focused investigative journalism (initially launched with First Look Media funding). Its nonprofit-adjacent model, adversarial-government focus, and reliance on document leaks place it in OCCRP's peer group, though it lacks OCCRP's explicit cross-border partnership network.
• Center for Public Integrity: Center for Public Integrity is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit investigative newsroom that exposes corruption and misuse of power, including offshore finance. Its U.S.-centric but globally-recognized investigations, donor funding model, and editorial scope align with OCCRP's U.S. headquarters and global mandate.

Emerging players

• Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN): GIJN is a worldwide association that supports investigative reporters with training, resources, and conferences rather than publishing investigations itself. It is comparable to OCCRP as a fellow ecosystem-builder for investigative journalism with similar funding sources and overlapping audiences.

Regional players

• Follow The Money: Follow The Money is a Dutch investigative platform focused on financial corruption, primarily covering European cross-border financial flows. Comparable to OCCRP's OpenLux and Cyprus Confidential projects, it operates a similar nonprofit-supported investigative model but is more regionally focused on Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Reuters Investigates: Reuters Investigates is a major commercial newsroom with a dedicated global investigations unit that produces cross-border accountability reporting. While funded through commercial subscription rather than donations, it competes for the same pool of leaked documents, sources, and award recognition as OCCRP.
• The Guardian Investigative Team: The Guardian's investigative unit is a globally recognized, award-winning team focused on accountability and corruption reporting (e.g., NSA/Snowden, Panama Papers collaboration with ICIJ). It shares OCCRP's global editorial scope and cross-border collaboration model, though it operates inside a major commercial publisher rather than as an independent nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OCCRP
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAdFen-6WQOxmDHK3saMD8A
• Facebookfacebook.com/OCCRP.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-organized-crime-and-corruption-reporting-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project