Frederik Obermaier

Frederik Obermaier
Born

1984 (age 31–32)

Occupation investigative journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Known for Panama Papers
Website www.frederikobermaier.com

Frederik Obermaier (born 1984) is a German investigative journalist for the Munich-based newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and an author.[1] Together with his colleague Bastian Obermayer in 2016 he initiated and coordinated the Panama Papers-revelations,[2][3]

Works

Frederik Obermaier's work focuses largely on corruption and tax-havens as well as intelligence services, illicit arms deals and extremism from the far-right to islamist groups.[4] Together with a group of journalists from Süddeutsche Zeitung and German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk he uncovered Germany's role in the US drone war, especially the role of the airbase in Ramstein.[5] Obermaier and his colleagues also revealed that the British intelligence service GCHQ had acceess to the communication-cables TAT-14, Atlantic Crossing 1, Circe North, Circe South, Flag Atlantic-1, Flag Europa-Asia, SeaMeWe-3 and SeaMeWe-4, Solas, UK France 3, UK Netherlands-14, Ulysses, Yellow and the Pan European Crossing.[6]

Panama Papers

To an unknown date a source who called itself John Doe leaked the documents 11.5 million internal documents created by Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca to Obermaier and his colleague Bastian Obermayer. "My life is in danger", he told them.[7] In a May 6 statement, John Doe cited income inequality, and said he leaked the documents "simply because I understood enough about their contents to realise the scale of the injustices they described". He added that he has never worked for any government or intelligence agency and expressed willingness to help prosecutors.[8][9] The two journalist shared the documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Journalists from 107 media organizations in 80 countries analyzed documents detailing the operations of the law firm.[10] After more than a year of analysis, the first news stories were published on April 3, 2016.

Obermaier and Obermayer in April 2016 also published the book "Panama Papers" about their experiences with John Doe and the following worldwide revelations. It was translated to more than ten languages.[11]

Bahamas-Leaks

After Panama Papers an unknown source handed over internal data from the national corporate registry of the Bahamas to Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer.[12] The 38 gigabyte of data show that several current and former heads of state and government and high-ranking politicians, including former EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes; Colombia’s former mining minister Carlos Caballero Argáez; Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar; and Angola’s vice-president, Manuel Domingos Vicente were respectively are directors, secretaries, or presidents of Bahamian companies.[13]

Awards and honours

Obermaier has received numerous awards, among others the CNN-Award in 2011[14] and the Helmut Schmidt Prize in 2013.[15]

Publications

External links

References

  1. ↑ https://www.icij.org/journalists/frederik-obermaier International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Frederik Obermaier
  2. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/business/media/how-a-cryptic-message-interested-in-data-led-to-the-panama-papers.html?_r=0 New York Times: How a Cryptic Message, ‘Interested in Data?,’ Led to the Panama Papers
  3. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hello-this-is-john-doe-the-mysterious-message-that-launched-the-panama-papers/2016/04/06/59305838-fc0c-11e5-886f-a037dba38301_story.html ‘Hello. This is John Doe’: The mysterious message that launched the Panama Papers
  4. ↑ http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/93766223555/the-dubious-colombia-exports-of-german-arms Süddeutsche Zeitung: The dubious Colombia exports of German arms manufacturer Sig Sauer
  5. ↑ http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/69501168406/deadly-drone-war-made-in-germany Süddeutsche Zeitung: Deadly Drone War, Made in Germany
  6. ↑ http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/59603415442/british-officials-have-far-reaching-access-to Süddeutsche Zeitung: British Officials Have Far-Reaching Access To Internet And Telephone Communications
  7. ↑ Juliette Garside (April 16, 2016). "Panama Papers: inside the Guardian's investigation into offshore secrets". Panama Papers. The Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Panama Papers: Source breaks silence on Mossack Fonseca leaks". 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Panama Papers Source Offers Documents To Governments, Hints At More To Come". ICIJ. May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/04/04/details_from_the_panama_papers_the_largest_leak_in_history.html Slate: The Latest From the Panama Papers: Details From the Largest Leak in History
  11. ↑ http://www.kiwi-verlag.de/rights/buch/panama-papers-the-story-of-an-international-exposure/978-3-462-05002-8/ Kiepenheuer&Witsch: Panama Papers. The Story of an International Exposure
  12. ↑ http://www.vice.com/read/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-bahamas-leaks-876 Vice: What We Know So Far About The Bahamas Leaks
  13. ↑ http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/150734811455/bahamasleaks-frequently-asked-questions-and Süddeutsche Zeitung: BahamasLeaks- Frequently asked questions and answers
  14. ↑ http://www.cnnjournalistaward.com/uploads/media/110510-PM_CNNJournalistAward2011_Preistraeger.pdf CNN-Award: Frederik Obermaier
  15. ↑ https://www.helmutschmidtjournalistenpreis.de/preistraeger/p2013 Helmut-Schmidt-Preis 2013
  16. ↑ http://www.kiwi-verlag.de/buch/panama-papers/978-3-462-05002-8/ KiWi: Panama Papers
  17. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panama-Papers-Breaking-Story-Powerful/dp/1786070472 Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money

[[Category:{{{topic}}} articles needing translation from German Wikipedia]]

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.