Dataharvest 2025 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

Russian gangsters, fake counts, golden Ferraris and shell companies in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Investigating the JuicyFields case meant plunging into a wild maze of deception, false leads and spectacular turns. Hundreds of thousands of people were deceived by a group of serial scammers. They claimed everybody could become rich by investing in virtual cannabis. With losses amounting to more than half a billion dollars, the JuicyFields scam is one of the largest pyramid schemes ever investigated by European authorities. Gabriela Keller (Correctiv) and Elisa Simantke (Paper Trail Media) were part of an international team of journalists that uncovered how a bunch of criminals from Russia went on digital raids targeting Europeans again and again. In this panel, Gabriela and Eilsa will explain how they built up sources, what they learnt from OSINT and police documents, how they tracked the path of the criminals from St.Petersburg to Berlin, Switzerland and South America. They will also talk about how they analysed company structures – and learned how to avoid the traps set for them by the criminals. Because, as the investigation built up momentum, the fraudsters were trying to lure the reporters into their network of illusions. And while the JuicyFields website is now defunct, the masterminds behind it are setting up new scams. The business of the fraudsters continues in several countries – as is the international investigation. That means reporters can still learn how to carry on investigating in their own country.