Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
Investigative Reporter · Mediapart · EIC Board Member
Paris, France
Mediapart (pôle Enquêtes, since 2015)
European Investigative Collaborations (EIC Board)
Formerly: Reuters · Journal du Dimanche · Libération
Yann Philippin is a French investigative journalist who has been a member of the investigations unit (pôle Enquêtes) at Mediapart since 2015. He specializes in financial crime, tax fraud, and corporate corruption — working at the intersection of power and public accountability in France and internationally. Before Mediapart he worked for the news magazine Futur(e)s, Reuters, Journal du Dimanche, and Libération. He serves on the board of directors of European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), the international consortium of investigative media organizations of which Mediapart is a founding member.
Philippin's investigative methodology emphasizes rigorous document authentication — examining computer metadata, cross-referencing information, verifying dates and names, and subjecting findings to contradiction by those implicated before publication. He has described this process as "bénédictin" work (after the Benedictine tradition of patient scholarly labor) and emphasizes the role of international consortium journalism in handling large-scale data leaks that no single newsroom could process alone.
Football Leaks (2016–): Co-led EIC's publication of more than 18.6 million leaked documents from football agents, exposing systemic tax fraud, illegal transfer payments, and financial misconduct across European professional football. Co-wrote the companion book Football Leaks: Les Secrets du Football Business (Robert Laffont).
Malta Files (2017): EIC investigation documenting Malta's role as a corporate tax haven within the EU — shell companies, undeclared accounts, and regulatory arbitrage exploited by European politicians and businesspeople.
Congo Hold-up (2021): Led Mediapart's participation in the EIC investigation based on more than 3.5 million leaked banking records from BGFIBank, exposing the alleged looting of public funds from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ESG Fund Investigation (2023): Exposed that "sustainable" ESG investment funds marketed to European investors held hundreds of billions of euros in fossil fuel and other environmentally damaging companies — a major gap between ESG marketing claims and portfolio reality.
OCCRP Funding (2024): Co-investigation with Mediapart, Drop Site News, Il Fatto Quotidiano, and Reporters United revealing that the US government provides roughly half of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project's annual budget and holds effective veto rights over the appointment of senior OCCRP staff — generating sustained debate about independence in donor-funded investigative journalism.
Burning Skies (ongoing): EIC-coordinated investigation into gas flaring by Western oil majors — documenting how major petroleum companies routinely burn off natural gas at African extraction sites, in violation of their own environmental commitments.
He is also the co-author of Dassault Système (Robert Laffont, with Sara Ghibaudo), examining the Dassault corporate and family empire.