Giannina Segnini

Investigative journalist; professor at Columbia Journalism School

Giannina Segnini combines database analysis, banking documents and public records with traditional investigative reporting. At Costa Rica’s La Nación, she led journalists and computer specialists and, with Ernesto Rivera, investigated bribery involving Finnish medical equipment purchases and Alcatel telecommunications contracts. The team’s reporting triggered criminal investigations involving former Costa Rican presidents, demonstrating how following financial flows can move scrutiny beyond officials’ and contractors’ public statements. Her team also built the Offshore Leaks database application, while participation in the Panama Papers and teaching at Columbia University extend these methods into cross-border corruption investigations and the training of other reporters.