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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.
The OCCRP's collaborative investigation followed a complex Azerbaijan telecom scandal that stretched from the Azeri ruling family to the shores of Stockholm. Accepting the prize on behalf of the team, OCCRP investigative journalist and recipient of the 2016 ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award Miranda Patrucic said, "Reporting on bribery is difficult because both sides are committing a crime and therefore you almost never get sources. We hope this encourages more people to work on bribery related stories and to find new and innovative ways of proving this crime undermines not only government accountability but in a small way democracy itself." Judge Diana Henriques said of the entry, "It was bravely and persistently reported in the face of daunting dangers."
The Wall Street Journal series featured 10 reporters in 7 countries and investigated huge networks of corruption in the Malaysian government including the country's leader. Judge Donatella Lorch describes it as "a coup de force in untangling and then explaining in lay terms the complexities of these vast webs of corruption." In accepting the award, The Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker said, "We are proud of our reporting on Malaysia's 1MDB fund, which has sparked investigations worldwide…the reporting has brought rare accountability to a country where the press is routinely restricted in what they can report."
Honorable mentions were awarded to Sönke Iwersen of Handelsblatt for his series on Imtech which tackled a complex scheme for bid rigging, and to Ian Urbina of The New York Times for "Maritime 'Repo Men': A last resort for stolen ships" which investigates companies using alcohol and prostitution, amongst others, as bribes to recover stolen ships.
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