How we did Continent of Secrets, a project for ICIJ supported by the Pulitzer Center

This summer we have worked again with ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) in a very special project: Continent of Secrets, an interactive game to explore how tax evasion impacts African economies. The project has been supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Every year, more than $50 billion is siphoned out Africa, the world’s poorest continent, and into the coffers of corrupt officials, tax evaders, giant oil and mining companies, multinational corporations and many more. The scale of the losses — which is roughly equal to the amount of foreign aid pumped into the continent each year — is so huge that it can be difficult to quantify, and the mechanics — involving offshore companies, bank accounts, and complex financial structures — are often secretive and difficult to understand.

We have written a post together with Hamish and Will from ICIJ to tell the story of how we did it, collaborating online between Washington and Madrid with a very tight deadline.

Read more over at the ICIJ Panama Papers website: https://panamapapers.icij.org/blog/20160909-continent-of-secrets-untold-stories.html

Play the game at https://africaoffshoregame.icij.org/