What if you knew that there was an organization called the Organized Crime Reporting Project (OCCRP), which claims to be one of the largest news organizations in the world, with 200 staff members that is partnered with more than 50 independent media outlets worldwide, but whose fundamental mission is to instigate regime change in countries or entities deemed hostile to the United States?
“OCCRP is one of the largest investigative journalism organizations in the world, headquartered in Amsterdam and with staff across six continents. We are a mission-driven nonprofit newsroom that partners with other media outlets to publish stories that lead to real-world action.”
-the Organized Crime Reporting Project (OCCRP)
How is this accomplished? With an annual budget of around 23 million, OCCRP leverages its substantial financial resources to investigate individuals and governments for crimes or misconduct in nations deemed hostile to U.S. interests. OCCRP then collaborates with the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC) to initiate criminal investigations or sanctions based on its reporting. Lastly, OCCRP joins forces with the CIA-affiliated organization "Transparency International" to develop initiatives aimed at regime change.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a worldwide collective of investigative journalists established in 2006, primarily funded by USAID and the Soros Foundation. It claims to focus on revealing international corrupt financial transactions, organized crime, and corruption—solely focused offshore and published through local media outlets. Its aim appears to be to influence political movements and shifts in nations not aligned with US interests, without those nations realizing that the USA and George Soros are behind this influence.
OCCRP publishes its investigative stories through local media and on its website. The organization conducts more than 60 cross-border investigations annually and trains journalists in reporting techniques. OCCRP also develops practical tools to enhance the efficiency of reporting and publishing.
In 2017, “NGO Advisor” ranked OCCRP 69th in the world among the top 500 non-governmental organizations.
USAID’s involvement in OCCRP
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has been found to have significant involvement (entanglement?) with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
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USAID Funding: The US government provided 52 percent of the money spent by OCCRP between 2014 and 2023.
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OCCRP's Independence: Despite presenting itself as an independent organization, OCCRP's management has placed it in a position of structural dependence on the US government,
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USAID has complete veto power over appointing key personnel and “helps” direct the organization's annual work plan. USAID has been called “the new CIA" - and this makes its intimate involvement with OCCRP operations highly suspect.
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Investigative Focus: OCCRP focuses on foreign governments and entities hostile to American interests, while the organization infrequently investigates its allies.
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OCCRP is a key founding partner and leader of the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC). This program aims to trigger criminal investigations or sanctions proceedings based on OCCRP's articles.
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The U.S. government is the primary funder of GACC, having contributed $10.8 million through USAID, but another top funder is the Open Society Foundations (OSF). Founded by George Soros, OSF has provided grants to OCCRP, a key partner in GACC (1).
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Finally, OCCRP partners with Transparency International, which Michael Hershman (a former member of US military intelligence) founded. He holds several other key positions, including director at the Centre for International Private Enterprise, Head of Recruitment for FBI informants, and Managing Director of the private intelligence firm Fairfax Group.
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Transparency International has been called a front for the CIA's economic intelligence operations. Additionally, it serves as a media tool to convince countries to revise their laws to “promote open markets.” According to Wikispooks, Transparency International is used as a pressure mechanism in the US government's regime change efforts.
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Transparency International is funded through the US State Department, the European Commission, the US State Department’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Britain’s Department for International Development, and the Open Society Foundations (owned by billionaire George Soros).
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OCCRP acts as a propaganda tool for the US government, serves as a media instrument to persuade countries to amend their laws, and OCCRP is utilized as an internal force within the borders of non-US aligned sovereign nation-states to drive regime change initiatives.
However, OCCRP has gone beyond persecuting entities and governments it deems hostile; it now appears to have moved into the realm of influencing the elections of allies to the United States.
In India, President Modi’s political party recently alleged that the U.S. State Department was behind the targeted press attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party. They accused OCCRP of attempting to "destabilize India” by using the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to create reports aimed at disrupting Parliament. Of course, OCCRP “denied” the allegations.
However, OCCRP’s history of working to destabilize governments hostile to the USA is well-documented, so it is no stretch to assume that this may have been the case here. If so, it represents a very dark turn for OCCRP. It is one thing and commonly understood that OCCRP works for regime change of entities deemed hostile by the US State Department, but to influence the regime of our allies is another thing altogether. It may be of little surprise to many that the change in the use of OCCRP to now attack political parties once deemed friendly to the USA including the nations of our political allies occurred under the Biden administration.
President Biden and President Modi parted ways over the Ukrainian war. India has refrained from criticizing Moscow directly and has continued to purchase Russian oil. This divergence has led to the U.S. initially threatening "significant and long-term" consequences for India's position.
OCCRP has avoided negative publicity by pressuring other newspapers and organizations investigating it. According to Mediapart, US journalist Drew Sullivan, the co-founder and head of the OCCRP, pressured a German newspaper to stop investigating OCCRP and made false accusations against the broadcaster’s journalists involved in the project.
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To conclude, USAID, working hand-in-hand with George Soros, has pursued the regime change of US State Department-perceived hostile governments and groups. The US state-funded organizations OCCRP, the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC), and Transparency International have been used effectively to harm nations' reputations and initiate regime change initiatives.
In a newer development, there are allegations that OCCRP, which essentially functions as a puppet or “cutout” for USAID, is now working to destabilize the legitimate governments of our allies, such as India.
Yet, herein lies another reason for President Trump to bring the out-of-control organization USAID to an abrupt end.
Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.
