Supported projects

KYIV - From the time it regained its independence in 1991 until the start of the war in the east, Ukraine remained one of the world's top ten arms exporters. However, not all transactions were legal. Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens have repeatedly been accused of international arms smuggling. Is ...

PORTO - Research by journalists Eelco van Wieringen (Buro Publieke Werken, Holland), Micael Pereira (Expresso Portugal) and Twan Kroon (researcher, Holland) shows that the age of port wines is often incorrect. They commissioned scientific research into the actual age of 10 and 20 year old Tawny ...

BRUSSELS - The identities of eight Russian "undeclared intelligence officers" who Nato recently expelled from Brussels shed light on the Russian espionage threat in Belgium, which also hosts EU institutions.

EL FAOUAR - Despite being owned by one of France's richest families, the Perrodos, the Franco-British company Perenco has a long history of secrecy and discretion.

MAPUTO - The promise of transformative wealth from natural gas has seduced Mozambicans for more than a decade. But as the projects led by TotalEnergies and Eni have started construction, revenues to the country look likely to fall significantly short of expectations.

ANKARA - One image that will undoubtedly mark 2021 is that of the tens of thousands of desperate Afghans drumming outside the closed gates of Kabul airport to get away. The borders were sealed tight, yet hundreds of thousands of Afghans managed to flee. A number of them reached Turkey in the hope of ...

BRUSSELS - Climate change is causing extremes in weather, such as more frequent heat waves, periods of drought and intense rainfall. Our farmers notice the consequences of the climate crisis on their fields, in fluctuating yields and failing crops.

ANTWERPEN - In 2017, Francis Njotea is rushed to hospital. He is in a coma for a week. When he wakes up, confused, he shares a secret with his son Raf. That contrary to what his children and ex-wife have always thought, he is not 63 but 73 years old. He later dismisses his claim as a hallucination ...

BRUSSELS - Overcrowding, striking staff, dilapidated infrastructure... With regularity our prisons are in the news in a way that leaves little to the imagination. What is less well known is that each prison has a Supervisory Committee that watches over the welfare of the inmates. About 450 ...

THE HAGUE- Argos investigated the investments of 1100 Dutch companies through subsidiaries or joint ventures in China. Together they are investing a total of 16 billion euros in China, which would make the Netherlands the second largest investor in China in Europe. 

TRIPOLI - Before his death, Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi moved a giant fortune out of the country. It is gold, diamonds and cash worth billions of dollars – financed with revenues from the sale of oil. Although the international community has committed to returning assets stolen from autocrats ...

DAMASCUS - Every month, crimes committed in Syria since 2011 have repercussions on European soil and lead to new actions, thanks to the involvement of Syrian lawyers and human rights defenders. Mazen, Maryam, Anwar, and Hadi and many other defenders of justice and human rights track down suspected ...

BRUSSELS - Journalists at Knack, LeVif and RTBF have joined forces to investigate the peculiar financial management of the non-profit organisation Poverello. They greedily buy real estate that often remains empty. The organisation appears to be very rich, but hardly ever uses its money for working ...

BRUSSELS - Joy and intimacy between family members and friends was an obvious thing before the corona crisis, but became a scarce commodity during it. Journalist Arkasha Keysers and photographer Aurélie Geurts captured the coming together of family and friends as soon as it was allowed again.

EL ZONTE - El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as its official currency: "One thing is certain: it is here to stay."

DHAKA - Faced with poverty and lack of opportunities, young Bangladeshis often dream of a better life in Europe that will allow them to provide for their families. Dalaals or ‘travel agents’ encourage and capitalise upon these hopes. Among those that take the risky journey to Italy known as 'the ...

VINDELN/LO MANTHANG/OLD CROW - Through the project Indigenous People Today, we investigate the effects of climate change on indigenous peoples, their ways of life and unique cultures. These are indigenous peoples in the northern hemisphere, living in arctic or high-altitude areas.

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS - 70 to 90 per cent of patients with unexplained symptoms are women. Why do female patients receive a (correct) diagnosis less often? What is the impact of this on their lives? How can this be done differently and better in the future? In the podcast Geen kleine man (No little man ...

ANTWERPEN - After images of her were non-stop circulating online, 13-year-old Destiny took her own life. For her, it was the only way out of all the judgements and hurtful comments. In a physical murder, the killer is visible. But who is to blame when everyone online has participated in the murder ...

PRAGUE - A cross-border team of journalists has focused on the potential corruption of solar energy support in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. More specifically, in the Czech Republic, the government has postponed changes to the law that would allow the state-guaranteed price of solar power to ...

PARIS - Le Monde and The Investigative Desk delved into the multi-layered world of Big Tobacco’s 21st century astroturfing. They discovered that under the guise of defending individual freedom, fake consumer organisations are promoting e-cigarettes.

BRUSSELS - BRUSSELS – One in ten Belgians uses strong painkillers such as oxycodone, tramadol and fentanyl. While these are effective painkillers, they carry a high risk of addiction: around 8% of people who come into contact with opioid painkillers become dependent on them. The longer you take them ...

LONDON - After the 2008 crash, a few Wall Street investors cracked the code for how to turn cut-price homes into a tradeable asset class worth billions. By 2021, the template they created is being adapted by diverse financial actors, ranging from private equity giants to PropTech apps.

STEPANAKERT - Nearly 30 years after Nagorno-Karabakh's declaration of independence, the region's simmering conflicts have flared up again. Nagorno-Karabakh is a country that does not officially exist. Still, it is fought over hard. Journalists Roel Nollet and Marijn Sillis travel to the Southern ...

SAMOS-KOS - This cross-border, independent investigation focuses on the newly opened 'closed controlled access centre' on the island of Samos. It is the first "pilot project of the European Union" and opened on 18 September 2021. It was financed entirely (43 million euros) by an EU Commission fund ...

MELILLA - The Spanish enclave of Melilla, geographically part of Africa, politically part of the European Union, is located on Morocco's northern coast. The border between the continents here consists of a triple fence with countless pits and guard posts.

BARCELONA – Beekeepers across Europe are facing challenges. Over the past few decades, European policies — especially the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — have encouraged the industrialisation of agriculture. This has left bees with nowhere to thrive and exposed them to many harmful substances ...

In Echo, named after the poem 'Echoes' by Audre Lorde, Neske Beks mercilessly puts her finger on the sore spot. Not only is the white view still dominant in our society, but Black women are doubly disadvantaged: they are not white and they are not men.

MADRID - In 2010, VRT correspondent Sven Tuytens moved from Brussels to Madrid. Based on his experiences, he tries to lay bare a piece of Spain's soul.

GERMANY - xHamster is one of the most visited porn websites in Germany and the world. The xHamster bosses have been in hiding for years. Now research reveals for the first time two leading figures behind Germany's most visited porn site.