Winner – A collaboration of ICIJ, Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO) and 11 media partners from West Africa: West Africa Leaks
- Judges’ Comments – This impressive series, which shows how government officials, corporations and others in West Africa used offshore tax havens to divert millions of dollars from poor countries, is the very definition of impact journalism. The effort had an effect, with everything from a tax probe in Cape Verde to an expansion of an investigation by Liberia and the sacking of a prominent mayor by Côte d’Ivoire’s ruling party. The judges were impressed at the effort involved, the way the articles connected the dots and the risks the journalists took to tell these stories. This is a complex financial and political situation with a lot of moving parts. The writers on this team in some cases must have taken considerable personal risk in reporting such material in countries where press freedoms are not a given and ruling powers may actively suppress news gatherers.