Supported projects

CROATIA / ITALY - This investigation looks at how beaches in Italy and Croatia continue to receive the prestigious Blue Flag certification despite persistent failures to comply with EU wastewater treatment standards.

MILAN / WARSAW / KYIV - How Europe's exceptional welcome of 2022 turned into years of permanent uncertainty, exposing the cracks of a reception system that expects people in need to accept whatever they are offered.

BRUSSELS - Despite EU water laws, this summer the drinking water supply system showed serious cracks in several regions in the European Union. Good water governance and its enforcement are essential to safeguard the access to clean drinking water on our continent. The European Commission is stepping ...

BRUSSELS - It is everywhere, yet invisible. Hawala, an ancient, trust-based money transfer system, moves vast sums of cash around the world every day, leaving almost no trace. No banks. No paper trail. Just a handshake and a code.

MINSK - In this investigation, journalists based in five different European countries investigate ties between the EU and Belarus, with a closer look on how far political, economical and social connections have been impacted by the war in Ukraine.

KOSICE / CALABRIA - Convicted trafficker Antonino Vadalà, long seen in Slovakia as a powerful businessman, re-emerges in a new investigation linking him and partner Diego Rodà to subsidy fraud, ’Ndrangheta ties, and a disrupted cocaine route — all amid fallout from the Kuciak murder case.

MARBELLA - Male influencers push hyper-masculinity, wealth and flashy lifestyles as the path to success. Their polished marketing hides crude truths: empty promises that mislead followers and harmful ideas about gender and power.

WARSAW / BUCHAREST - This investigation exposes the fast-growing aesthetic gynaecology industry, marketed as empowerment and “intimate wellness”, yet operating largely without scientific evidence, regulatory oversight or patient protection.

PRAGUE / VILNIUS - This investigation examines how the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is applied in cases where mothers flee across borders to escape domestic abuse.

BERLIN - Across Europe, former Islamic State members live under new identities—undetected and unprosecuted. This cross-border investigation by German and Dutch journalists reveal how suspected ISIS affiliates exploited secret routes, false identities, and legal loopholes to enter and stay in Europe.

BRUSSELS / LONDON / PARIS - In this investigation, journalists investigated the role medals awarded by wine competitions play in misleading supermarket consumers over the supposed quality of wines.

SOUS / PARIS – This investigation examines the challenges faced by Berber women as market pressures and climate change threaten the sustainability of argan oil cooperatives in Morocco.

MOYOBAMBA - This investigation traces the global supply chain of sacha inchi, an Amazonian seed also known as ‘the Inca’s gold’, to expose the mechanisms of modern-day biopiracy.

ATHENS / ROME - This investigation reveals that unaccompanied minors fleeing war and persecution face significant delays in family reunification due to bureaucratic inefficiencies throughout Europe.

PRISTINA – This investigation explores the long-term human and environmental consequences of the use of NATO's use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions during the 1998–1999 Kosovo War.

AALSMEER / NAIVASHA/ TABACUNDO – This cross-border investigation reveals the hidden economic, social and ecological asymmetries of roses, which symbolise love in the north but often represent exploitation in the south.

VICENZA / LOTE PARSHURAM - What happens to a Western chemical plant after it closes down due to causing an environmental disaster? Sometimes it travels to other continents. This investigation reveals how a PFAS factory implicated in an Italian environmental scandal was dismantled and rebuilt in ...

ISTANBUL / DAMASCUS – This investigation uncovers how Turkey's booming recycled steel industry is fuelled by scrap metal from war-torn countries like Syria. By tracing shipping data and smuggling routes, a shadow trade is revealed connecting Europe's steel supply chain to regional conflicts.

BUCHAREST / ROME / DHAKA – The investigation reveals Romania’s chaotic labour migration system pushes legal workers into illegality, creating conditions akin to modern slavery. Interviews and data show a network of recruiters, companies, and officials profiting from migrants' vulnerability while ...

PARIS / MADRID/ BERLIN – This cross-border journalistic investigation examines the environmental footprint of professional football in Europe - a sport that, despite growing awareness and a few promising initiatives, remains largely out of step with ecological imperatives.

ZAGREB / BUCHAREST – Croatian businessman Josip Heit is under scrutiny for alleged involvement in Ponzi schemes and money laundering. While he claims success through luxury assets, his ties to criminals and warnings from Germany's financial authority about unauthorized crypto trading raise concerns ...

BOGOTA -  The surrogacy industry has become worth billions of dollars as demand in Europe has increased due to changing cultural attitudes and favourable legal changes. This investigation reveals the consequences of this trend on the other side of the Atlantic.

BRUSSELS / RIGA – Utilising AI-driven analysis of Russian customs data, the Tools of War project uncovers the clandestine network of European companies that profited from supplying high-tech machinery to Russia's military, enhancing its capabilities prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

BELGRADE / SARAJEVO / ZAGREB – This investigation into obstetric practices in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina reveals that procedures are often carried out during childbirth without adequate consent or information. This results in long-lasting physical and psychological consequences for ...

TIRANA / MILANO – This cross-border investigative project focuses on researching the abuses and irregularities caused by the privatisation of immigration reception and detention centres in several countries.

MARRAKESH – The aim of this investigation is to trace and shed light on the role of European funds and supplies played in strengthening the Moroccan regime's control capabilities in matters of security.

MADRID / MILAN – In a disturbing trend dubbed “pop fascism”, Franco, Mussolini and Hitler are resurfacing on TikTok and beyond as memes, chants and emojis. A cross-border investigation by Maldita.es and Facta show that the idolisation of dictators and the spread of disinformation are becoming ...

BURGAS / SOFIA / DAMASCUS – Following Bulgaria’s 2025 Schengen accession, its border with Turkey became the EU’s migration frontier. Based on months of field reporting, this investigation reveals that Bulgarian authorities are not required by the EU to address human rights violations in this region.

ROTTERDAM - Despite the vision of a borderless EU enshrined in the free movement principles of the Schengen Area, EU citizens can still be deported from their host country. The majority of intra-EU deportation cases are initiated for 'causing a nuisance', and the group most affected are unsheltered ...

BERLIN – Volkswagen needs minerals for electric cars. War-torn Congo and Sudan have them. Long supply chains and an opaque system of certifications make it likely that “conflict minerals” end up in new electric cars from the German car giant.