New Delhi:
OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) has received huge financial support during the tenure of Joe Biden government. This has raised concerns about bias in the reporting of NGOs’ financial matters. According to an investigative report, being funded by the US government prevented the NGO from focusing its attention on countries such as Russia and Venezuela, which Washington considers its adversaries.
In fact, this funding determines OCCRP’s investigative priorities and Adani Group Its coverage of global affairs is likely to be affected.
OCCRP was established with financial support from the US Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Currently, the situation is that half of OCCRP’s budget comes from US government funds, the government has veto power on important appointments in the organization, this also includes the appointment of the organization’s co-founder Drew Sullivan.
NGO does not make funding public
Despite receiving funding from the US Department of the Interior, OCCRP does not disclose its full funding or its impact to the public, journalists, and media. Additionally, OCCRP’s published articles never include mention of financial assistance from the US government.
According to the report, since its inception, OCCRP has received funding of $47 million from the US government. Apart from this, the NGO has received $1.1 million from the European Union and $14 million from 6 European countries (Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia and France). Whereas the US Home Department had given $1,73,324 to the NGO for a mission related to targeting a corruption case in Venezuela. Let us tell you that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is considered an opponent of America.
Baseless allegations were made against Adani Group
In August 2023, Adani Group strongly refuted OCCRP’s claims, which made baseless claims related to hidden foreign investors. The group said an independent authority and an appellate tribunal had confirmed that the transactions in question were legal and that there was no overvaluation. Adani Group had clearly reiterated its commitment to transparency and respect for laws and said that all the business activities of the Group are in accordance with the laws.
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