Dataharvest 2024 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

European freezing of asset orders have been increasingly used since the so-called 2011 "Arab Spring" up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions can target companies, states and individuals alike - but how exactly do they work? And how can one assess how they have been implemented across the EU ? This session will explain how to make use of open company records and registries to investigate freezing orders. We will base this session on the examples from the investigations such as the #EscapeProject coordinated by CiFAR (Civil Forum for Asset Recovery) and the EIC (European Investigative Collaborations) and supported by IJ4EU, and researches into the Mubarak and Ben Ali clans assets in Europe, but the methodologies you will learn will be applicable to other contexts and countries.