Senior Editor, @ICIJ; former fellow, @cidc_aubg; author, "The Watchdog That Didn't Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism"
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Articles by Dean Starkman
About the China Capital investigation
China Capital is a cross-border investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that exposes how the world’s biggest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, maneuvers behind closed doors to help Beijing achieve its geopolitical goals.
Cyprus anti-corruption watchdog refers former president to prosecutors for alleged ‘abuse of power’
Cyprus’ anti-corruption authority has found “potential acts of corruption” and “abuse of power” by former President Nicos Anastasiades during his 10 years in office, referring possible criminal charges to prosecutors for further scrutiny.
Corruptie, chaos en chantage: hoe het Europese OM zich verslikte in Bulgaars gasproject
Wat is het nieuws? Een corruptieonderzoek van het Europees Openbaar Ministerie (EOM) naar een gasproject met grote geopolitieke belangen is vastgelopen. Het onderzoek richtte zich op vermeende corruptie rond de uitbreiding van de gasopslagfaciliteit bij het Bulgaarse dorp Chiren. Het EOM schorste Teodora Georgieva, de vertegenwoordiger van het EOM in Bulgarije, nadat zij zich in de media had uitgesproken.
Gas, lies, and videotape: How a gas project in Bulgaria brought chaos to EU’s anti-corruption body
What’s the news? A corruption investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) into a Bulgarian gas project with high geopolitical stakes has run aground. The probe targeted alleged corruption surrounding the expansion of Bulgaria’s Chiren gas storage facility.
Behind closed doors, Kazakhstan challenges decades-old deal with $160 billion claim against Big Oil
Kazakhstan is claiming that a group of international oil companies have been taking a staggering 98% of oil revenue, after modest royalty payments, from the country’s massive Kashagan oil field, according to a confidential interim ruling in a $160 billion arbitration claim seen by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
How Cyprus rose to become the beating heart of the Putin regime’s shadow financial system
In 2014, two senior officials of one of the biggest banks in Cyprus, RCB Ltd., visited Constantinos Petrides, a top aide to the country’s president. They weren’t there to talk banking. Instead, according to a Cyprus government investigation, the officials pressed Petrides to approve the citizenship application of a Russian national he said was under sanction by the European Union. Petrides balked, and the meeting got heated.
Ericsson facing ongoing probes and fallout months after ICIJ revealed new corruption breach
The Ericsson List investigation – which exposed the telecom giant’s dealings with Islamic State terrorists in Iraq – triggered upheaval at the company that began before publication and continues to this day. The company’s share price has plummeted, its chief legal officer is gone, investors are suing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating, and the U.S. Justice Department has served notice that new penalties are on the way for violation of an earlier corruption settlement.
Switzerland aims to track corporate ownership in attempt to curb money-laundering
The Swiss government plans to create a central registry to identify the true owners of now-anonymous Swiss-registered companies and partnerships, an incremental but important anti-money laundering reform for the longtime bastion of financial secrecy. The country’s Federal Council, Switzerland’s cabinet, has asked the government’s finance ministry to draft a law to create the new registry by next June.
Macron, Kroes under pressure as Uber Files puts spotlight on high power lobbying in Europe
The European Commission will “seek clarification” from former vice president Neelie Kroes about her lobbying for Uber, and French President Emmanuel Macron is facing pressure from parliament over his relationship with the ride-hailing giant, as fallout from the Uber Files exposé roils Europe.
ICIJ's guide to Russian wealth hidden offshore
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Western authorities have embarked on an unprecedented campaign of sanctions targeting the massive wealth of Russia’s ruling elites. But, as years of ICIJ reporting have shown, much of that wealth is hidden offshore.
After ICIJ exposes possible ISIS deals, US accuses Ericsson of breaching corruption agreement
The U.S. Department of Justice has told telecom giant Ericsson that it failed to disclose sufficient information about possible misconduct in Iraq before a 2019 criminal settlement, the company said. The Swedish company also said the DOJ informed the company that it also “breached” the settlement by “failing to make subsequent disclosures” after signing it. Shares in Ericsson fell 9% in Nasdaq Stock Market trading as investors fretted over the possible repercussions.
Ericsson risks being ‘uninvestable’ after Ericsson List revelations on ISIS payments and misconduct in Iraq, analysis says
Ericsson stock dropped more than 6% in European trading and Citibank financial analysts wrote the shares risked becoming “univestable” in the wake of revelations that the telecom giant dealt with Islamic State terrorists and presided over a bribery spree in Iraq. Meanwhile, a Swedish stock exchange said it was “in dialogue” with Ericsson as part of an ongoing investigation into whether the beleaguered company had improperly withheld information about its Iraq dealings from investors.
Frequently asked questions about the Pandora Papers and ICIJ
Since the publication of the first stories from our Pandora Papers investigation on Oct. 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has been contacted by members of the public and press with questions about the data, the project, and more. Here, we answer some of the most frequently-asked questions. We may update this post from time to time. What are the Pandora Papers?
Belgium’s biggest banks propose system to share suspected money laundering information
Under fire for anti-money laundering failures, a group of Belgium’s biggest banks proposed the creation of a platform to exchange information about suspect transactions with Belgian authorities and one other, as efforts to stem the flow of dirty money gather force globally.
FinCEN Files: Inside global money laundering investigation Original
It took a team of 400 journalists from around the globe to tell the story of The FinCEN Files. But it all began with a leak of documents to the online news organization Buzzfeed News. Buzzfeed shared the documents, banking records of “suspicious” money transfers, with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which assembled a team of reporters from around the world, including the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and their parent, McClatchy. They dug into the files.
Global banks defy U.S. crackdowns by serving oligarchs, criminals and terrorists
Secret U.S. government documents reveal that JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and other big banks have defied money laundering crackdowns by moving staggering sums of illicit cash for shadowy characters and criminal networks that have spread chaos and undermined democracy around the world.
About the FinCEN Files investigation
Drawing on a cache of secret financial intelligence reports, the global investigation by more than 400 journalists reveals how banks continue to move dirty money for drug cartels, corrupt regimes, arms traffickers and other international criminals — and how a broken U.S.-led enforcement system perpetuates business as usual.
"What Is Financial Journalism For?"
By Dean Starkman January 13, 2009 236 words “The current crisis in global banking, markets and economies has reminded us all of the importance of financial and business journalism. It has also raised a set of profound questions as to the quality of that form of reporting. Why didn’t we know this was coming? Did the journalists fail to put the financial system under proper scrutiny? Are they equipped to deal with the continuing complex story?
Patient Hopes Rise And Fall As An Industry Balances Progress And Profit
The New Orleans sales conference of medical-device maker DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. was rocking. The sound system blasted “Takin’ Share of Business!” — a play on the ‘70s hit tune — as top company executives boogied in Mardi Gras-style costumes through a hall full of sales personnel. And why not?
Goldman's Backdoor Bailout
Last week, I wrote that the lack of disclosure surrounding the American International Group bailout had put The New York Times at odds with Bloomberg over a fundamental question: What was Goldman Sachs’s stake in that bailout?
At the heart of Hungary’s battle for democracy: journalism
At the heart of Hungary’s battle for democracy: journalism A couple of weeks before Hungary’s recent, fateful national election last month, one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals, Miklós Haraszti, had a message for an audience of journalists and their supporters: “The media are the ultimate frontiers in defending freedom in society.” As if to prove Haraszti’s point, days after the election, the largest opposition paper, Magyar Nemzet, abruptly shut down, as did the English-language...
The Pittman Way
The reason this is important is not just that Pittman was a great reporter, though he was that. “One of the great financial journalists of our time,” Joe Stiglitz says. That is true. He did do great stories. He won the Loeb; he had a Pulitzer coming one of these days. That was inevitable. Financial journalism lost a leading practitioner at the worst possible time. I lost a friend. I realize my writing ability is not up to the job of expressing how I actually feel, but he was a great guy.
The Most Important Financial Journalist of Her Generation
On April 27, Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, sat down for a meeting at Goldman headquarters with Gretchen Morgenson, reporter, columnist and senior editor of the New York Times. The Wall Street titan and the Pulitzer Prize winner had never met, but this wasn’t the usual polite getting-to-know-you session between reporter and source. “I feel like I’ve been waterboarded,” Blankfein told her, according to people familiar with the discussion.
Stanford Prof On 'What's Wrong With Banking And What to Do About It' - Working Woman Report
Anat R. Admati, a professor of finance and economics at Stanford’s business school, is an unlikely player in Washington’s financial reform scene. The 58-year-old Israeli-born economist arrived at Stanford in 1983 with an interest in mainstream financial issues and a firm belief that markets, with their unique ability to assign a price to risk and channel capital to its most efficient use, were a powerful force for good. The 2008 financial crisis upended that faith.
Brauchli's Baggage - Columbia Journalism Review
The day will come when the next executive editor of The Washington Post will have to choose between the easy way or the hard way. Difficult decisions come with the job. This is worth thinking about now that Marcus Brauchli is reported by Radar’s Charles Kaiser to be one of two finalists to take over for Len Downie, an editor who showed that the old school was the right school after all.
Speedy Kills - Columbia Journalism Review
Back in the summer of 2007, when the world was a cartoon version of today and Dow Jones & Co. was just a steaming leg of lamb in News Corp.’s thought balloon, media writers and other philosophers, including The Audit, were atwitter about the implications of the snapping, snarling owner of the Sunday Tasmanian taking control of the world’s leading monitor of corporate behavior, financial markets, and the economy.
The Ever-Expanding Media Giants
This abundance obscures the fact that the media industry — really a series of increasingly interconnected industries — is objectively more concentrated today than it was in the analog past. Digital luminaries expected the internet to usher in the democratization of media. Instead, the reverse is happening — the big are getting bigger.
A Bureau Where They Reported Stories to Death
The hue, cry and gnashing of teeth over News Corp.’s takeover of The Wall Street Journal’s parent a couple of years ago mystified a lot of people, many of whom wondered what was so great about the paper that it had to be preserved in amber forever? They had a point. The paper had drifted.
The Price of Admission
Archives: Review Andrew Ross Sorkin’s debut and the limits of access journalism By Dean Starkman March / April 2010 3278 words Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves By Andrew Ross Sorkin | Viking | 600 pages, $32.95 “I must admit,” Sorkin wrote us this morning, “I was completely bowled over by the turnout. It was quite incredible to reassemble so many characters from the book in one room all together.
Wall Street Should Be Absolutely Delighted by the "Punishment" They're Receiving for Wrecking the Economy
In announcing the BNP penalty, New York’s superintendent of financial services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, made the following observation: “In order to deter future offenses, it is important to remember that banks do not commit misconduct—bankers do.” Many of his predecessors in white-collar law enforcement also understood the corrective power of publicity.
Tale of Two Citis
A long time ago, before the turn of the century, subprime lending was a marginal business—economically, ethically, every way. The business was basically left to the hustlers. Financial carrion. Birds of prey. Let’s face it, only the likes of Commercial Credit Corp., of Baltimore, would sell 40 percent loans to barely literate residents of Mississippi’s Noxubee and Lowndes* counties, tacking on credit insurance to bring the rate up to 70 percent. (Never mind what credit insurance is.
Sorry, Wall Street: The Crash Wasn't Everyone's Fault
Everyone-Is-To-Blame (or EITB, for brevity’s sake) has done much to mute the public outcry essential for sweeping efforts to respond to the financial catastrophe. To the extent that Dodd-Frank fell short of the root-and-branch reform that followed the last great crash in 1929, EITB is to blame. The fact that banks too big to fail before the crisis have been allowed to grow to twice their pre-bubble sizes can be traced to a nagging sense that they didn’t act alone.
Venture capital funding for startups is down sharply in 2015
A new set of data indicates that key segments in venture capital - the business of funding startup companies - will be down sharply for 2015, a sign that the dramatic run-up in startup valuations is peaking and the funding of new ones is tapering off. "There are a lot of indicators that we've reached the peak of the VC investment cycle," said Daniel Cook, an analyst at New York research firm PitchBook Data Inc.
Venture capital funding for startups is down sharply in 2015
NEW YORK - The venture capital sector is heading back to Earth. The big question for the new year is how bumpy its landing might be. A new set of data indicates that key segments in venture capital - the business of funding startup companies - will be down sharply for 2015, a sign that the dramatic run-up in startup valuations is peaking and the funding of new ones is tapering off.
Venture capital funding for startups dipped sharply in 2015
New York — The venture capital sector is heading back to Earth. The big question for the new year is how bumpy its landing might be. A new set of data indicate that key segments in venture capital — the business of funding startup companies — will be down sharply for 2015, a sign that the dramatic run-up in startup valuations is peaking and the funding of new ones is tapering off.
The Best Business Writing 2015 | Columbia University Press
Corporate monopolies, gross mismanagement, retail delivery drones, the growing app economy—2015 was a year of profound changes in the world of business and finance. Offering clear-eyed assessments of these developments along with compelling profiles and muckraking reports, the incisive articles in this volume provide an essential guide for understanding business's influence on economics, politics, and culture.
As bitcoin’s value surges, backers say the currency may soon go mainstream (+video)
NEW YORK — Long off the public radar, digital payment network bitcoin has been gaining momentum this fall, bolstering the views of some advocates that bitcoins will be a mainstream currency worldwide in the not-too-distant future. The value of a bitcoin surged to more than $400 last week from its low this year of $177.28 in mid-January. Meanwhile, the technology known as blockchain that underlies bitcoin trading is slowly being adopted for uses far removed from currency.
As bitcoin's value surges, backers say the currency may soon go mainstream
– Long off the public radar, digital payment network bitcoin has been gaining momentum this fall, bolstering the views of some advocates that bitcoins will be a mainstream currency worldwide in the not-too-distant future. The value of a bitcoin surged to more than $400 last week from its low this year of $177.28 in mid-January. Meanwhile, the technology known as blockchain that underlies bitcoin trading is slowly being adopted for uses far removed from currency.
Stanford professor takes on banking industry
Stanford economist argues that requiring banks to rely more on shareholders’ money instead of borrowing funds would increase stability, harness market forces to deter risky behavior and lead to a smaller, safer system as banks pulled back on bets that didn’t make financial sense. Anat Admati, a professor of finance and economics at Stanford’s business school, is an unlikely player in Washington, D.C.’s financial-reform scene.
Go to Queens Museum, Get Mad
Business press practitioners and their readers in the New York area who are suffering from crisis fatigue have a few days left to seek inspiration at the Queens Museum of Art, where an exhibit on, of all things, real-estate finance, helps to clarify one’s understanding of what we mean when we talk about the mortgage crisis.
New York Stock Exchange halts trading after apparent technical issue
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily halted Wednesday in response to an apparent technical issue. Trading in all shares was abruptly stopped at 8:32 a.m. PDT. "NYSE/NYSE MKT has temporarily suspended trading in all symbols. Additional information will follow as soon as possible," the NYSE said in a statement on its status page. No problems were reported on the Nasdaq, and that exchange said it continues to trade NYSE-listed stocks.
New York Stock Exchange halts trading after technical issue
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily halted Wednesday in response to an apparent technical issue. Trading in all shares was abruptly stopped at 11:32 a.m. EDT. “We’re currently experiencing a technical issue that we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible," an NYSE spokeswoman said in a statement.
New York Stock Exchange halts trading after technical issue
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily halted Wednesday in response to an apparent technical issue. Trading in all shares was abruptly stopped at 11:32 a.m. EDT. “We’re currently experiencing a technical issue that we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible," an NYSE spokeswoman said in a statement.
What China’s bursting stock bubble means for the US economy
China is a long way from Greece and the high-profile debt troubles of the eurozone, but its stocks have been taking a far worse beating in recent days. On Wednesday, the growing investor panic over Chinese stocks shook confidence in Beijing’s ability to manage its slowing economy and threatened to cause problems for overseas markets, including America’s.
What China’s bursting stock bubble means for the US economy
China is a long way from Greece and the high-profile debt troubles of the eurozone, but its stocks have been taking a far worse beating in recent days. On Wednesday, the growing investor panic over Chinese stocks shook confidence in Beijing’s ability to manage its slowing economy and threatened to cause problems for overseas markets, including America’s.
What China’s bursting stock bubble means for the US economy
China is a long way from Greece and the high-profile debt troubles of the eurozone, but its stocks have been taking a far worse beating in recent days. On Wednesday, the growing investor panic over Chinese stocks shook confidence in Beijing’s ability to manage its slowing economy and threatened to cause problems for overseas markets, including America’s.
Nation's largest public pension fund returns likely to fall short of 7.5 percent target, official says
The nation's biggest public pension fund is falling far short of its annual investment goals. The California Public Employees' Retirement System earned only 3 percent in the 10 months ending April and will likely fall short of its 7.5 percent annual target when the fiscal year ends this month, the pension giant's investment chief said.
Supreme Court acts to secure 401(k) accounts
The court opened the door for employees to sue plan administrators who place retirement funds in high-fee products when cheaper alternatives are readily available. The decision in Tibble v.
Five banks fined for manipulation
Citicorp, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and three other global banking giants have agreed to plead guilty to U.S. felony charges for rigging foreign currency exchange rates and pay a total of nearly $5.7 billion in fines as part of settlements announced Wednesday by U.S. and European officials. The banks, which also include Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS, "for years participated in a brazen display of collusion," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.
Five banks plead guilty to market manipulation, fined $5.7 billion
Citicorp, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and three other global banking giants have agreed to plead guilty to U.S. felony charges for rigging foreign currency exchange rates and pay a total of nearly $5.7 billion in fines as part of settlements announced Wednesday by U.S. and European officials. The banks, which also include Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, "for years participated in a brazen display of collusion,” said Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch.
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