The outflow of illicit money from Russia is estimated at $104 billion dollars annually, with much of that money ending up in real estate in the European Union and the United States. These types of transnational illicit money flows encourage corruption and a misuse of state funds.

Have you ever wanted to investigate corrupt cash overseas but didn’t know where to start? Now, the Sunlight Foundation has partnered with Transparency International Russia to provide peer-to-peer learning experiences between journalists in the United States and Russia — all from the comfort of their desks. The series will feature both subject matter experts and the real-life experience of journalists. We aim to provide journalists in both countries opportunities to connect and gain skills to expose corruption and follow the flow of illicit money between Russia and the United States.

If you’re interested in attending any of these seminars, please fill out this form here (also embedded below) and let us know so we can send you follow up information.

We’re always trying to find additional stories that demonstrate how these tools can be used in practice, so please also let us know if you have experience in tracking corrupt cash across borders or have done stories in these subject areas as well. Finally, also let us know if you’d be interested in connecting with a Russian journalist to explore a joint investigation!

Speakers will be announced soon; in the meantime, here’s a rundown of our tentative webinar schedule:

1. “Tracking property owners in Russia” — February 10, 10am-12pm EST
Russian experts will show how to find out who owns property in Russia.

2. “Tricks for tracking real estate in the United States” — February 18, 8am-10am EST
American experts show how to find the owners of property in the United States and tricks to make your reporting more thorough.

3. “Using Russian open records and databases for investigative reporting” — February 29, 10am-12pm EST
Russian Experts will show what records are public in Russia (there are more than you might think!) and how to use them in your reporting.

4. “Using public records to track businesses and companies in the United States” — March 9, 10am-12pm EST (Tentative)
Confused how to track companies in the United States? We’ll have experts with tips for exploring corporate filings like SEC records. (Hosted by the Sunlight Foundation)

5. “Russian Court 101: How does the legal system work in Russia?” — March 21, 11am-1pm EST
Experts from Russia give an overview of how the court system works in Russia and what journalists covering it should know about court rulings.

6. “Exploring American court records” — March 30, 9am-11am EST
Local, state, federal records — we’ll look at how to use online records like PACER to track court cases in the United States.

7. “How to protect your work” — April 11, 11am-1pm EST
Journalists aren’t immune to hacking and cyber espionage. This webinar will show journalists how to use web security and data encryption to protect their work and their sources.

8. “International open records: The databases you need to know” — April 20, 10am-12pm EST
Experts share their knowledge of international databases and give tips on good search approaches when conducting international investigations.

9. “Using social media in your investigations” — April 28, 10am-12pm EST
Experts show how social media can be a hidden resource. We’ll explore geo-tagging and geo-location and how you can use it in your reporting.

We hope to see you on one of our webinars! Sign up below: