Fredrik Laurin


Fredrik Laurin is a Swedish journalist and special projects editor at Swedish Public Television, SVT.

Biography

Fredrik Laurin has been working as a journalist since 1989. He´s currently Special projects Editor contributing to Swedish Televisions investigative program Uppdrag granskning and the investigative desk at SVT Nyheterna.
During fourteen years from 2000 he was part of a team, "Trojkan" with Sven Bergman and Joachim Dyfvermark. and was since 2006 working with them as an investigative reporter/producer for Sweden’s main investigative Programme "Uppdrag granskning" at SVT - Swedish Television.
Before that as investigative researcher/reporter/producer for the current affairs show "Kalla Fakta" Swedish National TV4 and earlier at the Swedish News Agency TT, the Current Affairs Show "Striptease" on Swedish Television, SVT, and the media newspaper "Resumé".
In 2014, Fredrik Laurin took over as head of the investigative team at Swedish Radio, SR Ekot, but was 1,5 years later headhunted back to SVT as Special Projects Editor.
He lectures on investigative journalism techniques in courses organized, among others, by the Swedish Investigative Reporters and Editors "Grävande Journalister", the Global Investigative Journalism Conferences, GIJC, ARIJ seminars and at the Universities of Stockholm and Gothenburg´s School of Journalism. In 2018:
He was editor of Swedish Televisions "Faktakollen" - a fact checking site in 2018- until leaving for a Knight Wallace Fellowship at University of Michigan.
He´s a member of the International Consortioum of Investigative Reporters, ICIJ, currently on the organizations Network committee responsible for selecting new members.

Reporting

In 2013, "Trojkan" was the only Swedish journalists to access the Snowden documents.and could expose the intimate relations between the eavesdropping agencies Swedish FRA and US NSA. He has been part of several ICIJ projects such as Looting the Seas, Offshoreleaks, Swissleaks, Luxleaks, Panama and Paradisepapers.
"Trojkan" also uncovered in several reports for SVT in 2012 how the daughter of Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov, Gulnara Karimova, was bribed by the Swedish Telecom giant Telia Sonera. Gulnara Karimova was subsequently jailed after admitting to bribery the company paid one of the highets fines ever in history to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In April 2012 a one-hour documentary could expose how the company cooperated with oppressive regimes in a business region the company called "Eurasia" that included long-time dictatorships like Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. In September 2012 the first reportage on how the company also bribed their way to these markets was published which after several subsequent reports led to the resignation of the company's CEO Lars Nyberg and the board. In 2015 Telia Sonera declared that it was selling all its assets in "Eurasia" - and the loss to the biggest owner - the Swedish state - was estimated at 20 BN SEK Dagens Industri. The recipient of Telia Soneras payments for the Uzbek licenses, Gulnara Karimova, was deposed by her father, the long time dictator Islam Karimov because of the international scandal following the publication and after her fathers death sentenced for corruption. In 2013 the trio was awarded another "Guldspaden" by Swedish Investigative Editors and Reporters and with a third "Stora journalistpriset" for their reporting on Telia Sonera.
Swedish Television and "Trojkan" have also exposed how a french colonel in charge of joint UN-EU operation Operation Artemis in the Congo in 2003 personally took part in torture of a prisoner in front of Swedish fellow officers. In spite of both Swedish and French military investigations Colonel Christophe Rastouil was never charged and instead made head of the covert action division of the DGSE.
In 2005 the team were rewarded with a number of awards, among them awards from the Overseas Press Club of America, RTNDA:s Edward R Murrow award and the Stora Journalistpriset Stora Journalistpriset as well as the Swedish Investigative Reporters and Editors award "Guldspaden" for their reporting on the secret deportation of two Egyptians in what was one of the first operations known as "Extraordinary rendition".
The two men, Ahmed Agiza and Muhammed Al Zery, were taken from Bromma airport in Sweden in December 2001 to Egypt in a covert operation by US agents and handed over to Egyptian security services and were subsequently tortured. The story caused a major uproar in Sweden, drew international attention and was one of the first to shed light on "Extraordinary Rendition". The plane uncovered in the report as the one used in the rendition was a US registered Gulfstream V with the registration number N379P.
It was found by the reporters, and their partners in the reporting like UK-reporter Stephen Grey. to be part of a much larger fleet of planes used for rendition operations.
Fredrik Laurin and his colleagues also received several awards, among them a second "Stora Journalistpriset", for their 2007 report on the bribery in the sale of the Swedish jet-fighter Gripen to the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa.
In September 2008, they received the ICIJ Daniel Perl award for their 2006 report in National TV4 "The Illegal Cod" on the illegal fishing in the Barents Sea. and in November 2009 were appointed Environmental journalist of the year for "Pink Gold" on the sustainable farming of salmon.
In August 2006, Fredrik Laurin and Joachim Dyfvermark were awarded the Norwegian "Breiflabb-price" for the reports "The Illegal Cod". The price is given to journalists who in their professional work has contributed to a positive development of the fishing industry.
In addition the trio was in 2003 awarded the Swedish Investigative Journalists Price of Honour together with Fredrik Lundberg for a story uncovering a huge corruption scandal in "Systembolaget". Fredrik Laurin was together with Leif Holmkvist awarded the Swedish Investigative Reporters and Editors award "Guldspaden" 2000, for the revelation of bribes in the Swedish campaign for the summer Olympic Games 2004.

Articles