Group America: Investigating a U.S.–Serbian Drug Gang with Friends in the Shadows

Group America, active for decades yet still largely unknown, has been accused of smuggling cocaine, dismembering enemies, assassination of senior government officials, and trading on ties with intelligence agencies. How do you track the operations of a well-disciplined and creative network with a unique business model? The OCCRP consortium has followed Group America for years. Journalists from KRIK (Serbia) and investigace.cz (Czechia) share know-how from the cross-border investigation into the global reach of a dangerous U.S.-Serbian gang. www.praguemediapoint.com/program-2020

How to Expose an Illegal Arms Business in Your Pajamas

There are currently about 30 armed conflicts around the world: civil wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and South Sudan; territorial disputes in Ukraine and Turkey; ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh; instabilities in Lebanon, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. All need weapons and ammunition, and a lot of it. But the arms trade is one of the most opaque global businesses. There are no arms deals between Syria and Bulgaria, but you’ll find Bulgarian rockets all over Syria. Not only are there no arms deals between Libya and Serbia, there is an arms trade ban in place. If you know where to look, however, you can find pictures and videos of newly produced Serbian mortars in Libya. Unless your media organization sends you to the battlefield to research, how do you get to the bottom of this? It’s actually simple, if you know where to look. www.praguemediapoint.com/program-2020

The Kočner Library: 57 Terabytes That Shook Slovakia

The Kočner Library project contains thousands of documents relating to Slovak businessman Marián Kočner, who was tried for allegedly ordering the assassination of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. The library is available to Slovak journalists for pursuing stories relating to Kočner, who has been accused of links to organized crime. How did this project start? How do you organize such a huge task? What has been accomplished, and what is next? Pavla Holcová of OCCRP and investigace.cz will talk about the details of this award-winning project. www.praguemediapoint.com/program-2020