Michael Hornsby from the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC) describes how ACDC’s GI-ACE project with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) seeks to support systemic change, honouring the bravery of whistleblowers who helped bring corruption to light.
In Whistleblower, a new documentary feature film by German director Marc Bauder, we follow investigative journalists and whistleblower protection advocates as they navigate the perils of receiving testimony from a high-ranking government whistleblower from a despotic regime.
A central plotline follows Congolese whistleblower Jean-Jacques Lumumba, a former employee at BGFIBank DRC, who exposed massive corruption and money laundering through the bank in 2016, before eventually fleeing into exile in Europe with the support of the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF).
Later, another leak of millions of files from the same bank – the largest ever leak from Africa – led to the Congo Hold-Up cross-border investigative project involving 19 media outlets and five NGOs. This revealed how the inner circle of then-president Joseph Kabila used BGFIBank DRC to embezzle millions of dollars in public funds, disguise bribes, and launder the proceeds of their corruption into luxury assets abroad. These include real estate in South Africa bought by senior Kabila-regime insiders, which is tracked down in the documentary by a team of investigators from The Sentry and PPLAAF.
Systemic change requires systemic analysis
The experiences of whistleblowers shown in the film serve as a reminder that individual disclosures do not necessarily lead to systemic change. In a 2022 interview filmed as part of the documentary, the anonymous Panama Papers whistleblower known as ‘John Doe’ recounts his disappointment that the offshore world continues to operate unchecked, years after the Pulitzer Prize-winning project by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) rocked the world with revelations of politicians’, royals’ and criminals’ hidden wealth.
“I am extremely pleased, and even proud, that major reforms have taken place as a result of the Panama Papers. Sadly, it is still not enough. I never thought that releasing one law firm’s data would solve global corruption full stop, let alone change human nature. Politicians must act.” John Doe
As Whistleblower makes clear, individuals like John Doe are often motivated by the opportunity to create systemic change. But that is difficult to achieve on the back of individual investigations alone. Systemic change requires evidence that transcends scandals, sustaining long-term reform that cuts across changes in governments, media attention and public pressure.
The Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC) is aiming to bridge this gap by bringing together partnerships which will help to convert whistleblowers’ evidence into systemic change. In our work with PPLAAF, supported by the Governance and Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI-ACE) programme, a team of leading academics is now analyzing the BGFIBank DRC data leaks. Their research focuses on the role of international banks in facilitating illicit financial flows from BGFIBank DRC through their correspondent banking function, as well as the effectiveness of policies like derisking, when major international banks cut off relationships with high-risk financial institutions. This analysis builds on the essential journalistic reporting that first emerged from the leak, and begins to examine the international system that allowed BGFIBank to become an engine of grand corruption in the DRC.
Meanwhile, life for the whistleblowers themselves remains dangerous. Jean-Jacques Lumumba now lives and works in exile. His life has been threatened. Intelligence officers have intimidated his wife and children. Two other Congolese whistleblowers supported by PPLAAF, Navy Malela and Gradi Koko, have received death-sentences in absentia, for revealing embezzlement from another DRC financial institution, Afriland First Bank.
Anyone watching Whistleblower will be struck by the bravery, integrity and sacrifice of Lumumba, Malela, Koko and the other whistleblowers featured. Using their revelations to generate the maximum possible evidence and impact is one of the most important ways we can ensure that the personal price they have paid is not in vain.
“Whistleblower” is showing at film festivals throughout 2026. For more information, please visit Bauder Film’s website.
Featured image credit: (c) bauderfilm 2026