Scandal, Intrigue, Corruption, and Gerard Ryle's Fight for Transparency

From the Panama Papers to a Pulitzer and a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

In a world of political scandals, so-called “fake news,” and what seems to be a never-ending barrage of one-sided reporting, how can news readers expect a fair shake? Enter Gerard Ryle, the Executive Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). 

In a chat with the Ireland Portugal Business Network (IPBN), he said, “We are driven by the belief that citizens have the right to be better informed, that access to independently sourced facts is not only essential for democracy but is also a fundamental human right. Transparency is at the center of everything we do.” 

That’s what prompted the IPBN to reach out to Media Partner The Portugal News, to arrange something quite special: a Conversation with a Leader event with Gerard at the Auditorium of the Irish Embassy in Lisbon on Thursday, October 3 from 9h30 to 11h on why investigative journalism has never been so important and challenged. It will include case studies and helpful insights, and will be led by Filipe Garcia, journalist, Former Deputy Director of Diário de Notícias and, prior to that, Deputy Editor of Politics at Expresso. 

Gerard Ryle started as a reporter in rural Ireland and later made his name as an investigative reporter in Australia before joining as ICIJ’s first non-American director in September 2011. He is a book author and TED speaker, and he has won or shared in more than 90 major journalism awards from eight different countries. In 2021, ICIJ was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Gerard Ryle himself is the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-award-winning director of the ICIJ in Washington, DC. He led the worldwide teams of journalists who worked on the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, FinCEN Files, and Pandora Papers investigations - the six biggest cross-border collaborations in journalism history. 

The work of he and his colleagues helped force the downfall of four world leaders – the Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Iceland, Malta, and the Czech Republic - and prompted legislative reform across the world.  Several people went to jail, including one Prime Minister, as a result of these reports. They led to official inquiries in more than 70 countries and caught the attention of Hollywood. 

Under Gerard’s leadership, ICIJ has gone from obscurity to one of the best-known journalism brands in the world. He has been credited with revolutionizing the way investigative journalism is done, helping convince many of the world’s biggest and smallest media companies to join forces to work together on global stories. The Pandora Papers project involved more than 600 journalists at more than 150 news outlets in 117 countries working together.

Apart from Panama Papers and Pandora Papers, ICIJ is best known in Portugal for its Luanda Leaks project in 2020, a trove of 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits, and accounts that helped explain how Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the former president of Angola, built a business empire worth an estimated US$2 billion. Ms. dos Santos now faces an international arrest warrant. In Portugal, authorities froze her bank accounts and seized all of her assets.

Both members of the IPBN as well as non-members are invited to register to join this exciting event. The conversation will last about 45 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A session with attendees to put the theme in perspective as to how this information can help business leaders make better decisions.

Register today on the link mentioned above or get in touch with the IPBN’s General Manager, Arnold Delville at arnold.delville@ireland-portugal.com for more information.