A detailed investigative report by Mediapart, a French newspaper, has claimed that the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) is funded by the US Government (as well as organisations linked to George Soros). It is also alleged that the conditions of funding include a veto power on key appointments in the organisation.
Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mahua Moitra, have extensively quoted OCCRP-funded reports to allege corruption involving Adani and the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
On September 4, 2023, just one day before the Supreme Court hearing on the Hindenburg-Adani case, Financial Times, OCCRP, and The Guardian collaborated to publish an article against the Adani Group titled “Secret Paper Trail Reveals Hidden Adani Investors.” Reports are emerging that these articles were funded by the US-backed organization—OCCRP.
“The OCCRP, the largest organized network of investigative media in the world, has hidden the extent of its links with the US government, this investigation can reveal. Washington supplies half of its budget and has the right to veto its senior staff,” said a detailed investigative report by Mediapart.
The allegations levelled against OCCRP highlight the lack of due process or sufficient evidence in some of OCCRP’s claims, particularly those related to offshore holdings and financial dealings.
OCCRP has been significantly funded by the US government, receiving at least $47 million since its inception, with the US providing about half of its budget annually, despite claims of independence, it claimed.
OCCRP receives a substantial portion of its budget from the U.S. government, with over 50% of its funding coming from U.S. sources. This raises questions about its editorial independence and whether its reporting might serve U.S. foreign policy interests.
In India, OCCRP has tied up with several journalists and few English newspapers. OCCRP was created by Drew Sullivan in 2008 in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, initially as a media network focused on investigating organized crime and corruption in the Balkans—a region where Soros has been very active and funded numerous initiatives. Sixteen years later, OCCRP has become, as Drew Sullivan himself describes it, “the largest investigative reporting organization on Earth.”
From its earlier focus on oil-rich countries, including Russia and Venezuela, OCCRP has been gradually shifting its attention toward India and its energy producing organizations. The Adani Group has been at the center of this focus. The group has faced several attacks over the last two years from journalists affiliated with OCCRP and working in various media houses, including The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The Adani Group has issued several statements defending itself, claiming that various collaborators are working together to target it. It has specifically named George Soros as a financier of these attacks, noting that Open Society, a foundation founded by Soros, is one of the backers of OCCRP. The economic fallout from OCCRP’s reporting has led to public distrust in enterprises associated with those mentioned in its reports.
