Two wealthy Haitians recently sanctioned by Canada owned or had other links to almost 20 companies and trusts created in some of the world’s most secretive tax havens, according to documents from the Pandora Papers.
Reporters Will Fitzgibbon, Debbie Cenziper and Diana Moukalled take us behind the scenes of the Shadow Diplomats investigation and reveal how ICIJ and its partners uncovered hundreds of part-time diplomats embroiled in controversy.
After receiving questions from journalists, governments announced the termination and reviews of honorary consuls tied to controversies or accused of wrongdoing.
Nine documents illustrate how journalists obtained records to build the first comprehensive account of global wrongdoing by volunteer diplomats known as honorary consuls.
The U.S. State Department trusts foreign governments to nominate reputable honorary consuls, despite global accounts of wrongdoing.
Over the last 12 months, the newsroom behind the world’s biggest journalism collaborations put out more deep-dive global exposés than ever before.
ICIJ spent months requesting, collating and analyzing data on honorary consuls from all around the world, reviewing hundreds who were mired in controversy.
Authorities around the world launch probes and propose overhauls following ICIJ and ProPublica's Shadow Diplomats investigation.
Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has appointed dozens of honorary consuls. Many spread pro-Kremlin sentiment around the world.
ICIJ media partners investigated honorary consuls tied to their countries, unearthing cases of wrongdoing by the part-time diplomats and a critical lack of government oversight.
Honorary consuls around the world have repeatedly exploited their status to enrich themselves, evade law enforcement or advance political agendas.
Honorary consuls are meant to foster ties between countries. But criminals and others accused of exploiting the position have infiltrated their ranks.
ICIJ analyzed the level of transparency provided by countries about honorary consuls residing in their territory, and the honorary consuls that are representing their countries abroad.
The Shadow Diplomats investigation identified at least 500 current and former honorary consuls who have been accused of crimes or embroiled in controversies including drug and weapons trafficking, murder, fraud and terror financing.
What’s an honorary consul? What did the Shadow Diplomats investigation uncover? These questions and more, answered.
ICIJ and ProPublica identified at least 500 current or former honorary consuls publicly accused of wrongdoing or embroiled in controversy. Here are snapshots of some of those cases.