A team including OCCRP executive director Paul Radu has been recognized for “A Murderer’s Trail Home” which was published by the OCCRP in Romania. Mihai Munteanu, Luke Harding, Ion Preașcă, Iurie Sănduță and Cristi Ciupercă were the other reporters on the project.
“A Murderer’s Trail Home” traces the activities of 34-year-old Moldova native Vitalie Proca, and his involvement with an ultraviolent network of criminals and hit men paid to kill to settle inter-gang conflicts.
The project followed a case in Bucharest where Proca shot an innocent man that he mistook for Puiu Mironescu, an alleged leader of a Romanian organized crime group. In London, Proca gunned down Gherman Gorbuntsov, a 46-year-old Moldovan-Russian nicknamed the "Black Banker" for his alleged fraud and money laundering activities.
The European Press Prize highlights work “stirring public debate, illuminating complex issues for readers through investigative journalism and holding the institutions of power to account.”
Judges will announce the results in London on March 17. The winning entry will be awarded US$13,670 (EUR €10,000) to be spent on a journalism project.
