Bastian Obermayer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bastian Obermayer
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Obermayer in 2024
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| Born | 10 December 1977 Rosenheim, West Germany
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| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Deutsche Journalistenschule |
| Occupation | Investigative journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung |
| Known for | Panama Papers Paradise Papers The Daphne Project |
Bastian Obermayer was born on December 10, 1977. He is a German investigative journalist. This means he digs deep to find important information that people might try to hide.
He works for a newspaper in Munich called Süddeutsche Zeitung. Bastian Obermayer is well-known for receiving huge amounts of secret documents. These documents led to major investigations called the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers. He worked on these projects with his colleague Frederik Obermaier.
Obermayer has also written several books. One of his most famous books is about the Panama Papers. It's called The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money.
In 2017, after spending time as a special fellow in Michigan, Obermayer helped start a non-profit news organization called Forbidden Stories. This group helps journalists continue important investigations, especially when other journalists are in danger. He is currently a Vice President at Forbidden Stories.
Bastian Obermayer studied politics, history, and American studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He also studied journalism at the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich.
Contents
What Bastian Obermayer Does
Bastian Obermayer works on many different kinds of stories. He once uncovered a big problem inside a German car club called ADAC. His reporting led to major changes in how the club was run.
He has also reported on important stories about wrongdoing. These include secret arms deals and historical crimes. In recent years, he has focused a lot on corruption and tax havens. Tax havens are places where people or companies can hide money to avoid paying taxes.
Obermayer is part of a group called the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). With this group, he helped with other big investigations. These include Offshore Leaks, Luxembourg Leaks, and Swiss Leaks. He also helped uncover Germany's role in the US drone war. This was especially about the airbase in Ramstein.
The Panama Papers Investigation
Bastian Obermayer was contacted by a secret source who called themselves John Doe. A whistleblower is someone who reveals secret information about illegal or dishonest activities. John Doe gave Obermayer and his colleague Frederik Obermaier more than 11.5 million secret documents. These documents came from a law firm in Panama called Mossack Fonseca.
John Doe told Obermayer that their life was in danger. They said they leaked the documents because they understood how unfair the activities described in them were. John Doe also said they never worked for any government or spy agency.
Obermayer shared these documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Journalists from 107 news organizations in 80 countries worked together. They spent over a year studying the documents. The first news stories were published on April 3, 2016.
Just a few days later, Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier published their book. It was first released in German. Then it was translated into more than 15 languages. The famous US journalist Bob Woodward called the Panama Papers investigation a "triumph of journalism." NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden called it "the biggest leak in the history of journalism." Later, Netflix announced they would make a movie based on Obermayer and Obermaier's book.
The Bahamas-Leaks Investigation
After the Panama Papers, another secret source gave Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier new information. This data came from the official company records of the Bahamas.
The 38 gigabytes of data showed that many important people were involved with companies in the Bahamas. These included current and former leaders of countries and high-ranking politicians. For example, Neelie Kroes, a former EU Commissioner, and Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, a former prime minister of Qatar, were listed as directors or presidents of Bahamian companies.
The Paradise Papers Investigation
Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier also started the Paradise Papers investigation. These documents were made public on November 5, 2017.
The Paradise Papers included 13.5 million records. They showed connections between Russia and Donald Trump's commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross. They also revealed the hidden money of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau's chief fundraiser. Even the offshore dealings of Queen Elizabeth II were part of these papers.
The Daphne Project
In late 2016, Obermayer met French investigative reporter Laurent Richard. They were both in Michigan as special fellows. Richard had an idea to start a non-profit news organization. Its goal was to fight against censorship through collaborative journalism. This means many journalists work together on a story. Obermayer had a lot of experience with this from the Panama Papers.
When Richard started his organization, Freedom Voices Network, in mid-2017, he asked Obermayer to be Vice President. In October 2017, a Maltese investigative journalist named Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed. On that very day, Richard and Obermayer decided to try and continue her important work together. This is how the Daphne Project began.
Awards and Recognition
Bastian Obermayer has won many journalism awards in Germany. These include the Theodor Wolff Prize in 2009 and the Henri Nannen Prize in 2010 and 2017. He also won the Helmut Schmidt Prize multiple times.
He has also received international and US awards. These include the George Polk award and the Barlett & Steele award. As part of the ICIJ's Panama Papers team, he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017. This award was for "Explanatory Reporting," which means explaining complex topics clearly.
In 2016, Obermayer received the special Knight-Wallace Fellowship from the University of Michigan.
