Investigation into Russian shadow fleet wins 2025 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism

On 21 October,  the platform for investigative journalism ‘Follow the Money’ won the 2025 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism for exposing the hidden financial networks enabling Russia’s sanction-evading oil trade.

Led by Follow the Money in collaboration with 13 newsrooms and 40 journalists from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, this investigation reveals how Western shipowners earned over $6 billion by selling 230 ageing tankers to Russia’s shadow fleet.

Journalists uncovered how these vessels now operate under opaque ownership structures, often without adequate environmental insurance. But the main thing is that these ships are used to transport Russian oil, circumvent sanctions and finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The investigation exposes a complex web of European involvement in Russia’s sanctions evasion, including eight shadow fleet crewing agencies operating within European borders, alongside the finding that 20 such agencies are based in Ukraine.

The investigation traced crew members on 60 shadow fleet vessels to companies in European nations, revealing how ordinary European businesses have become entangled in Russia’s war economy.

The Prize is a tribute to the Maltese investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in October 2017. It rewards, on a yearly basis, outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the European Union, such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights.

This year, hundreds of journalists from the 27 EU countries submitted their stories for consideration. Ten of the 316 submissions were shortlisted by the jury before the winner was chosen. The list of finalists includes an international investigation revealing the story of a Ukrainian journalist, Viktoriia Roshchyna, imprisoned and killed in Russia.

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Press release