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Established to promote, support and fund research, investigative journalism, publications, videos and related initiatives, the TRACE Foundation advances commercial transparency and anti-bribery education. Through scholarships, prizes and grants awarded to individuals and organizations, it helps deepen understanding of the causes of corruption and the most effective ways to address it.
Funded by TRACE International, the Foundation operates under the guidance of an independent board with sole authority over project selection, execution and the distribution of funds—together, these efforts help drive meaningful progress in the global fight against corruption.
Given the extraordinary pressure on investigative journalism in the U.S. and many autocratic countries, the TRACE Foundation will shift its focus in 2026 from recognizing and rewarding past journalism to supporting future efforts with grants.
Dewald van Rensburg Investigative Journalist, amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
“The Laundry,” a two-part series, is the first product of an ongoing investigation by the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism. These stories take readers deep inside the money-laundering industry in South Africa, showing step-by-step how existing banks and key professionals form the building blocks of an informal banking sector that facilitates large-scale crime and secretly moves staggering amounts of money offshore.
The Gecko Project, BBC, and Mongabay
Their joint investigation, published in various installments throughout the three news outlets, focuses on how Indonesian communities, whose traditional agricultural life has been upended by large-scale palm oil production, have been systematically cheated by corporations that promised – and in many cases, that were legally required – to share a portion of their profits with the villagers whose land made those profits possible. Some of the key outputs from the investigation can be seen here, here and here.
An honorable mention went to Jeff Wicks and his investigative team at News24 in South Africa for their investigation “Silenced,” which follows the murder of an anti-corruption whistleblower.
A second honorable mention went toe the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) for their work following a single digital footprint “LLCinvest.ru” to expose remarkable links among assets believed to be owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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