Investigative journalists built a global network to expose fraud and corruption

OCCRP founders Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu have spent two decades creating an investigative journalism infrastructure to match the rapid expansion of global fraud networks and the acceleration of technology. Their leadership and journalistic prowess have transformed global partnership into a frontline defense against modern financial crime. The recipients of the ACFE’s 2026 Guardian Award explain why international collaboration is more essential than ever to uncovering fraud.

In 2025, the full scale of the organization Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu created came into sharp focus when the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and dozens of international media partners, exposed the inner workings of a sprawling, sophisticated investment fraud network. The investigation, known as Scam Empire, began with an extraordinary leak of nearly two terabytes of internal data from two major networks of call centers operating from Israel, Eastern Europe and Georgia. The leak featured thousands of hours of recorded phone calls, screen captures, spreadsheets and internal chats. Journalists had access to an unfiltered, real-time view of scammers at work as they manipulated victims, coached one another, celebrated “wins” and coordinated global financial deception.