Bastian Obermayer
| Bastian Obermayer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977 (age 39–40) Rosenheim |
| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Deutsche Journalistenschule |
| Occupation | investigative journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung |
| Known for | Panama Papers |
Bastian Obermayer (born 1977 in Rosenheim) is a German journalist with the investigative unit of the Munich-based newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), and the reporter contacted by the anonymous source who leaked the Panama Papers. Obermayer is also author of several books, among them his best selling account of the Panama Papers: The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money.
Bastian Obermayer was born in 1977, and studied politics, history and American studies at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich as well as journalism at the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich.
Bastian Obermayer works on a wide range of topics. He revealed a big scandal inside the German automotive club ADAC, which led to a complete restructuring of the biggest German club, but he also worked on sexual abuse by priests, illicit arms deals, nazi criminals, intelligence services and, mainly in the last years, corruption and tax-havens. As a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Obermayer also took part in the large collaborative investigations Offshore Leaks, Luxembourg Leaks and Swiss Leaks. Together with a group of journalists from Süddeutsche Zeitung and German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk he uncovered Germany's role in the US drone war, especially the role of the airbase in Ramstein.
Bastian Obermayer was contacted to an uncertain time by an anonymous whistleblower who called itself John Doe and who thenceforward leaked more than 11.5 million internal documents created by Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca to Obermayer and his colleague Frederik Obermaier. "My life is in danger", John Doe told Obermayer. In a May 6, 2016 statement, John Doe cited income inequality, and said he leaked the documents "simply because I understood enough about their contents to realise the scale of the injustices they described". He added that he has never worked for any government or intelligence agency and expressed willingness to help prosecutors. The two journalist shared the documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Journalists from 107 media organizations in 80 countries analyzed documents detailing the operations of the law firm. After more than a year of analysis, the first news stories were published on April 3, 2016. Only days later, Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier published their book, first in German, later in more than 15 languages. The US investigative journalist Bob Woodward called the Panama Papers investigation a "triumph of journalism", the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden "the biggest leak in the history of journalism".
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