Welcome back!
After a two-year fight, our media partners at Le Monde told us they’ve finally won access to some information about medical devices certified in France. Journalists asked for the data while working on our 2018 Implant Files investigation into medical device safety, but a new law designed to protect “trade secrets” was used to block access. A Paris tribunal only agreed to half of the reporters’ request (the court allowed data about uncertified medical devices to be kept secret), but the “half victory” was an important (partial) win for press freedom over corporate secrecy.
“I think trade secrets are irrelevant when it comes to informing the public on life and death matters such as medical implants,” Le Monde journalist heading the lawsuit Stéphane Horel told us. Hear, hear!
Now, for the rest of the news from ICIJ:
FRESH UK INQUIRY
Prompted by the FinCEN Files, a powerful U.K. parliamentary committee has launched a new anti-money laundering inquiry tasked specifically with looking into the impact of our investigation, as well as examining Britain’s anti-money-laundering systems, corporate liability for economic crime, and the work of Companies House, the U.K.’s much-abused register of companies.
WHISTLEBLOWER ‘IGNORED’
A former U.S. Department of Treasury employee convicted of leaking confidential bank intelligence documents to a journalist has asked a federal court for leniency, portraying herself in a court filing as a dedicated public servant and frustrated whistleblower who wanted to expose misconduct in the agency and protect national security.
WANTED: MOSSACK AND FONSECA
Germany has issued arrest warrants for Panamanian lawyers Jürgen Mossack, 72, and Ramón Fonseca, 68, on charges of aiding tax evasion and forming a global criminal enterprise, more than four years after the publication of the Panama Papers.
Thanks for reading!
Hamish Boland-Rudder
ICIJ's online editor
P.S. If you've enjoyed our coverage this week, remember to tell your friends and family and share our work on social media. Send them an email now!
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