The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Europe" ...
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HBO Real Sports: Hockey's Darkest Day
In 2011 a plane carrying a Russian hockey team crashed shortly after takeoff--the deadliest accident in the history of professional sports. A five-month Real Sports investigation uncovered massive safety problems in the Russian hockey league. The league spent millions on player salaries but "a few bucks" on everything else--including travel. The plane that crashed was operated by a cheap, third-rate company that had been banned from flying to Europe because they had been cited so many times for major safety violations. The crew of the plane hadn't even completed their training. Our investigation showed that the lack of safety in the world’s second best hockey league—called the KHL—often extends to the ice where KHL team doctors use IV’s and drugs to get their players to perform better on the ice. One young star died after receiving an injection of banned drugs from team doctors. When it came to travel, the lack of safe conditions was nearly universal. Practically every team flew on a Soviet-era jet—jets that make up 3% of the world’s fleet but account for 42% of the world’s accidents. These jets are in such poor condition that most Russian airlines wont use them. Yet even after the crash the KHL continued to use these planes, a fact they initially denied. Shortly after we interviewed the KHL Vice President, the league changed its rules. Now teams fly strictly on modern equipment.
Tags: Russia; Russian hockey team; plane crash; the KHL;
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Hidden Wealth of Azerbaijan President
The President of oil-rich Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has been compared to a Mafia crime boss in US diplomatic cables, and man analysts refer to him as a dictator. OCCRP looked deeper than those labels and found that the Aliyev family has systematically grabbed shares of the most profitable businesses in the country. Investigative reports by OCCRP and Radio Free Europe have revealed and more importantly proven for the first time that the ruling family has secret ownership stakes through offshore companies in the country’s largest businesses, including banks, construction companies, gold mines and phone companies. The government Aliyev runs gave these shares. The family also has secretly amassed high-end property in places like the Czech Republic. The Azeri government responded to the revelations first with silence and now claims that OCCRP is an agent of the rival Armenian government. Aliyev’s administration also failed to investigate the harassment and blackmail of OCCRP and RFE journalist Khadija Ismayilova earlier this year. While Azerbaijan has worked at improving its image worldwide, OCCRP’s reporting makes clear that a petty dictatorship remains in control.
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Project Simoom
Our investigation "Project Simoom" revealed how the Swedish government in secret helped Saudi Arabia with the planning of an advanced weapons factory. In order to hide the plans from the public a state agency set up an illegal dummy corporation formed with cash from the military intelligence service to handle the project with the saudis. Our disclosure forced the Defence minister Sten Tolgfors and his staff to resign, and stopped the construction of the weapons factory, the investigation has won several awards including the number one broadcast award in Europe "Prix Europa"
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The Offshore Crime
While governments and citizen of Eastern Europe were struggling with the recent financial crisis and trying to borrow money from international institutions, billions of Euros circulated in the rgeion in an illegal, parallel system that enriched organized crime figures and corrupt politicians.
Tags: crime; financial crisis; phantom companies
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Europe's Hiddin Billions
An investigation of the European Union's spending practices finds that less than 10 percent of allotted funding has reached the beneficiaries of Structural Fund projects. The stories also examine how it is nearly impossible for taxpayers to see how their money is being spent.
Tags: taxpayer; EU; European Union; finance; spending
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Europe's Hidden Billions
An investigation of spending by the European Unions questions whether there is proper oversight of taxpayer money. Although nearly impossible to track where EU money is spent, the Financial Times found that millions of euros are being siphoned off by organized crime syndicates. Additionally, many of the EU's programs meant to support under-developed countries no longer are serving that mission.
Tags: European Union; UNESCO; recession; spending; oversight
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Fields of Terror-The New Slave Trade in the Heart of Europe
People from poor countries are becoming modern day slaves as they are lured in on false pretenses and then being held captive. They were promised “good salaries, accommodations, and food”, but instead were beaten and threatened if they asked for these items. These people were becoming slaves and provided many local restaurants with fresh foods from the surrounding fields. Even though this was all happening, many people were continuing to get away with having these modern day slaves and no one was stopping them.
Tags: Czech Republic; Eastern Europe; illegal immigrants; gangsters; criminals; labor; force; manual labor; work
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Genetic Modified Food
In a two-part series, senior investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian examined the business of genetic engineering and the growing impact it is having on the way we grow food, and what we eat. Part one take a look at the business practices of Mondsanto, a major bio-tech seed maker, which patents its genetically modified seeds. Monsanto sells the seed to farmers but prohibits them from replanting their seeds after harvest, a practice known to farmers for 11,000 years. In the story, the team found that Monsanto has been coming after small farmers for seed piracy, suing them when Monsanto suspects farmers of planting its patented seeds "illegally" even when those farmers have never purchased or planted and Monsanto products. Part two examines the secret changes to our foods and asks, why don't we, in the U.S., label genetically modified ingredients when it is done with regular practice in Europe, Japan, Australia and our trading partners? Whether we realize it or not, we probably ate something for dinner last night that had a DNA-altered ingredient in it, but the FDA says that these ingredients do not have to be labeled and therefore no one knows when they are eating genetically modified foods.
Tags: Monsanto; genetically modified food; soybeans; farming; agriculture; seed cleaning; food
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Game of Control
While some agencies have chipped away at corruption in football, their efforts have stopped at their national borders. Criminals have observed no boundaries. Reporters for the Organize Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a consortium of investigative reporters, took a months-long look at the business of football in the southeast Europe and the former Soviet Union. They found networks of agents and power stakeholders quietly skimming transfer fees and working through tax havens and companies with shell proxies to avoid taxes. In post-transition Bulgaria some 200 killings have been linked to football. Among the dead are 15 club leaders who attained their posts through questionable means.
Tags: football; soccer; corruption; murder; athletes; organized crime; Eastern Europe
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Chantix: Miracle cure for dangerous drug?
An investigation into the anti-smoking drug Chantix/Varenicline found many adverse reactions in the FDA's public database. The reactions included aggression, violent behavior and thoughts of suicide. "A follow report detailed how drugs are sent to market with minimal testing."
Tags: Food and Drug Administration; medicine; anti-smoking; risk; Europe; drug testing; adverse reactions;