Frederik Obermaier, Germany, is a book author and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Together with his colleague Bastian Obermayer he founded the Munich-based investigative startup paper trail media. Exclusive publishing partners of paper trail media are the German magazine Der Spiegel, German public broadcaster ZDF, the Austrian daily Der Standard and the Swiss Tamedia group.
Obermaier was part of the ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks, Luxembourg Leaks, China Cables and other projects. Together with this colleague Bastian Obermayer, he initiated the Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks and Paradise Papers investigations. He has received numerous honors for his work, including the CNN-Award, the Otto Brenner Preis, the renowned Wächterpreis, the Henri-Nannen-Prize, the Reporterpreis and the Helmut-Schmidt-Journalistenpreis.
He also jointly shared awards with his ICIJ colleagues including the Scripps Howard Awards, the George Polk Award for Business Reporting, the Barlett & Steele Award, the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Award and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting
For the Panama Papers, Obermaier was together with his colleagues Bastian Obermayer and Vanessa Wormer elected Germany's Journalist of the Year 2016. In 2017, he was also awarded the Murrey Marder-Fellowship in Watchdog Journalism at the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University.
Obermaier is a member of the jury of Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Awards, co-founder of the Anti-Corruption Data Collective and board member of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ).
He has co-authored several books, including bestselling accounts of the so-called Ibiza Affair, which lead to snap elections in Austria, as well as The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money.
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U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden calls for whistleblower protections.
- Investigations
- Stories by Frederik Obermaier
U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden calls for whistleblower protections.
Jul 30, 2018
Law firm’s internal files reveal oil, mineral and grain trader Glencore signed secret deals and loaned millions to a high-risk business partner.
Nov 05, 2017
Former top EU official among the politicians and others named in leak revealing 175,000 offshore companies registered in the Bahamas.
Sep 20, 2016
Complex offshore financial deals channel money and power towards a network of people and companies linked to President Vladimir Putin.
Apr 03, 2016
He came to power after the country’s financial collapse while hiding his offshore holdings of millions in bonds from Icelandic banks.
Apr 03, 2016
The team and the goals behind this six-month investigative collaboration.
Nov 05, 2014
How ICIJ's network and a video posted online helped uncover evidence of German-made guns in places they should never have been available.
Aug 19, 2014
An investigation by ICIJ's members in Germany reveals that the U.S. secretly staged drone warfare from bases in Germany, with the help of German intelligence services.