Investigation: corruption in the Danube Delta

From 2014 to 2020, the European Commission invested €1.11 billion into Romania’s Danube Delta, a UNESCO world heritage site. Instead of alleviating poverty in this economically depressed region and preserving the unique ecology of Europe’s largest wetland, the funds fell under the control of a network of Romanian politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.

With colleagues from Romania, Germany and the UK, I examined more than a thousand projects, hundreds of wealth declarations from politicians, and ownership and financial data of companies that received money from the European investment earmarked for the Danube Delta. We also interviewed anti-corruption specialists, EU-officials, and visited people in Europe’s biggest wetland.

Romanian: G4 Media here & here, Info Sud-Est here & here.

German: Suddeutsche Zeitung here & here.

Dutch: NRC Handelsblad here & here.

Mentions: Romania Insider, Europa FM, Hotnews, Adevarul, Epoch Times, Ziua de Constanta, Constanta TV, Stiri Press.