Investigations
I have produced award-winning investigations that have exposed corruption, abuse of power and the adverse impact of U.S. foreign policy. These projects, some of which were supported by the Pulitzer Center, Type Investigations and the London School of Economics, involved months of on-the-ground reporting and unearthed exclusive findings.
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UN staff on £1.5bn Iraq aid project ‘demanding bribes’
The Guardian
January 2024
This investigation revealed systemic fraud and waste on the UN’s biggest post-war reconstruction program in Iraq. Based on interviews with dozens of UN staff, government officials and contractors, the article detailed a cascade of bribes taken by UNDP staff and government officials. It showed how corruption steadily chipped away at donor funds, raising questions about the stated impact of the program. The revelations prompted both the UNDP and the Iraqi government to launch investigations.
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The Rise and Fall of Iraq's Sunni Strongman
Foreign Policy Magazine
November 2023
This investigation examines the extraordinary rise to power of Mohammed al-Halbousi, a business man who became Iraq’s youngest speaker of parliament at age 37. But his striking ascent was soon overshadowed by a reputation of a cunning and ruthless politician who used ‘money and force’ to consolidate his grip on power. The piece investigates allegations of corruption and abuse of power, shedding light on the mechanics of power consolidation in Iraq.
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‘Heist of the century’: How $2.5bn was plundered from Iraqi state funds
The Guardian
November 2022
This piece investigates one of the biggest corruption scandals that has come to light in Iraq in recent years, exposing how politicians, government officials and security officials from across the political spectrum colluded to plunder $2.5bn from Iraq’s tax authority. Based on access to confidential documents and interviewees with more than a dozen sources, the piece lays bare the mechanics of large-scale theft while exposing the failures of institutions charged with oversight.
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‘You are not honourable anymore.' Shamed and trafficked into Iraq's sex trade
Al Jazeera English
August 2022
This multi-media investigation, consisting of a documentary and a long form article, exposes sex trafficking in Iraq, a growing phenomenon fueled by deeply entrenched socioeconomic factors and enabled by a tangled web of corrupt officials and armed groups, a toxic mix that has become the hallmark of the US' post-2003 legacy in Iraq. Through exclusive access to authorities, traffickers and survivors, it sheds light on the power structures that fuel the exploitation of girls.
Finalist of One World Media Award, Print Category.
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How South Sudan’s elite looted its foreign reserves
The Mail & Guardian
November 2017
This year-long investigation exposes one of the biggest corruption scandals in South Sudan’s history, uncovering how ruling elites benefited from the letters of credit, a mechanism set up by the government to import basic goods during a humanitarian crisis. Based on detailed analysis of government documents, the piece implicates senior government officials in a fraudulent transactions that took advantage of the growing spread between the official and blackmarket exchange rate.
Winner of Kurt Schork Memorial Award.
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Sudan Sanctions Enriched the Powerful at the Expense of the Weak
Bloomberg Businessweek
November 2017
This piece exposes how for-profit hospitals run by Sudan’s ruling elite were able to circumvent U.S. sanctions and score contracts with American companies such as GE. These hospitals gave rise to a lucrative private health care sector, even as public hospitals that served the most disadvantaged struggled to access basic equipment and medicine.
Reported in partnership with Type Investigations.
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The Underground Caliphate
The Intercept
September 2018
This investigation sheds light on ISIS’s transition to guerrilla warfare followings its territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017. Traveling to villages in remote rural areas most affected by the group’s insurgency, the piece documents how the group continues to terrorize and extort rural populations. Interviews with dozens of civilians and security officials paint a picture of the group’s new modus operandi, and the challenges of Iraq’s security forces to fight the group’s new tactics.
Reported in Partnership with Type Investigations.
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How Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran Ended Up Strengthening ISIS
Foreign Policy Magazine
May 2020
This investigation reveals for the first time the combat role of U.S. special forces in the fight against ISIS. On-the-ground reporting shows that American troops secretly fought alongside their Iraqi partners to root out ISIS sleeper cells. The operations were successful, but were upended by the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Suleimani, which fueled anti-American sentiment and forced the coalition to halt its activities.
Reported in partnership with Type Investigations.
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Rampant corruption scorches Iraq’s grain farmers
Al Jazeera English
June 2020
This multi-platform investigation unveils how officials and traders colluded to benefit from a government program aimed at supporting Iraqi grain farmers through subsidized grain prices. The scheme pushed farmers to sell their harvest to private traders, who then re-sold to government silos at a subsidized prices, pocketing the higher price and paying off government officials.
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Justice for the Enemy
The Intercept
June 2018
This in-depth report examines judicial proceedings in Iraqi courts at a time when rapid fire trials sentenced thousands of ISIS suspects to death. Focusing on the case of one detainee and gaining exclusive access to court documents, the piece highlights flaws in the due process, including the use of torture to extract confessions. The lack of evidence-based trials has fueled allegations of sectarianism, raising questions about the judiciary’s ability to bring about justice and reconciliation.
Reported in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.