RISE Moldova ( ro, Asociația Reporterilor de Investigație și Securitate Editorială; The Association of Investigative Reporters and Editorial Security) is an independent, non-governmental and nonprofit organization consisting of
investigative journalists
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...
, programmers and activists from
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. Investigations made by RISE Moldova journalists were shortlisted for the
European Press Prize
The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Foun ...
for two years in a row.
History
RISE Moldova was founded in March 2014 by ex-
Ziarul de Gardă
Ziarul de Gardă is an independent weekly newspaper in the Republic of Moldova, founded by Alina Mazureac and Aneta Grosu
Aneta Grosu (born 24 September 1957) is a journalist from the Republic of Moldova. She is the editor in chief of the inve ...
journalists Iurie Sanduta, Nicolae Cuschevici and ex-
Since its launch RISE Moldova has investigated and published materials, stories and filmed short documentaries on such subjects as corruption, conflict of interests and cross border organised crime schemes and networks. First investigation signed by RISE Moldova started in 2013, when RISE journalists cooperated with colleagues from
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
to uncover complex illegal business and criminal schemes behind a cross border network of assassins-for-hire operating throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
. This investigation was a finalist at the 2013
European Press Prize
The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Foun ...
.
Another investigation, named "
Russian Laundromat
The Russian Laundromat was a scheme to move $20–80 billion out of Russia from 2010 to 2014 through a network of global banks, many of them in Moldova and Latvia. The ''Guardian'' reported that around 500 people were suspected of being inv ...
", revealed international money laundering scheme that moved tens billions dollars into Europe using
offshore companies
The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to:
* a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...
, fake loans and bribed Moldovan judges. Some of the Russian banks involved were owned in part by
Igor Putin
Igor Alexandrovich Putin (russian: Игорь Александрович Путин; born 30 March 1953) is a Russian businessman and politician, former vice president of Master Bank. He is a first cousin of the Russian President, Vladimir Pu ...
, cousin of Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...
. It was named the best investigation of 2014 by Centre of Independent Journalism of Moldova. It was also shortlisted for the 2014
European Press Prize
The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Foun ...
and won The Special Jury Award.
Other important cross border investigations covered such themes as arms smuggling from
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
to
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
and international routes in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
; hidden wealth of the Moldovan politicians; the business of priests in Moldova and church's connection to the underworld.
SwissLeaks
On March 11, 2015 RISE Moldova became first media outlet to unveil names of
Moldovans
Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians ( ro, moldoveni , Moldovan Cyrillic: молдовень), are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and the largest ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova (75.1% of the population as of 2014) and a si ...
linked to SwissLeaks case. RISE published documents on secret accounts held by eight Moldovan emigrants at
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internati ...
bank
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
RISE Moldova was part of global investigative project
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
and was the only media outlet from
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
which received access to the leaked
Mossack Fonseca
Mossack Fonseca & Co. () was a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider.Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
story on public person from
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
was published on April 4, 2016 and was about business ties and
offshore
Offshore may refer to:
Science and technology
* Offshore (hydrocarbons)
* Offshore construction, construction out at sea
* Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well
* Off ...
connections of ex-
prime minister of Moldova
The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parliam ...
Ion Sturza
Ion Sturza (born 9 May 1960) is a Moldovan politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Moldova from 19 February to 12 November 1999. On 21 December 2015, President Nicolae Timofti nominated Ion Sturza to occupy the position of prim ...
. The documents were initially received by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
newspaper
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat.
Histo ...
and shared by the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with ...
and the
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...
.
Partners
RISE Moldova activates in the
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...
, a regional organization which gathers
investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...
associations from
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...
. Other partnerships include Global Investigative Journalism Network,
n-ost
The Network for Reporting on Eastern Europe (n-ost) is an international non-governmental organization and a registered association based in Berlin. Also known by the acronym n-ost, the Network for Reporting on Eastern Europe is led by Executive Di ...
and
RISE Project
The RISE Project (Rivera Submersible Experiments) was a 1979 international marine research project which mapped and investigated seafloor spreading in the Pacific Ocean, at the crest of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 21° north latitude. Using a d ...