Denis Robert
Denis Robert, born on 9 May 1958 in Moyeuvre-Grande, Lorraine, France, is a French investigative journalist, writer, filmmaker and painter. He spent twelve years at the newspaper Libération before leaving to focus on his own writing and filmmaking. He studied psychology and holds a Master in psycholinguistics. After starting a fanzine in Lorraine in 1982, he joined Libération in 1983, first as a correspondent in Eastern France, then to cover financial and political affairs. He resigned in 1995 to concentrate on his books and films.
Robert became widely known for his investigations into Clearstream, a global financial clearing house. He published Révélation$, La Boîte noire and co-produced the documentary Les Dissimulateurs. His work led to more than 60 lawsuits in France, Belgium and Luxembourg from banks such as Menatep and BGL, and from Clearstream itself. The affair sparked a major public debate about financial secrecy and accountability.
In 1996, he helped launch the Appel de Genève with seven anti‑corruption magistrates to promote a stronger European judicial area against financial crime. The investigations and legal cases against him continued for years. In 2004, he was convicted by a Paris court for defamation in connection with Révélation$ and Les Dissimulateurs, and in 2006 he faced another defamation conviction related to an interview in VSD. However, in February 2011, the Court of Cassation overturned these convictions, ruling that the public interest and the seriousness of the investigation justified the journalism and that Robert’s reporting did not violate the law.
Beyond his investigative work, Robert has written numerous novels and essays. Notable titles include Pendant les affaires, les affaires continuent (1996), La Justice ou le Chaos (1996), Happiness (Le bonheur, 2000), Une ville (2004, adapted as a TV series), La domination du mode (2006) and Le milieu du terrain (2006). He also published a four‑volume comic series, L’affaire des affaires, and a 2009 science fiction novel, Dunk. He has directed several documentary films, including Journal intime des affaires en cours (1998), Le cahier (1999), Les Dissimulateurs (2001), Histoire clandestine (2002), and L’affaire Clearstream racontée à un ouvrier de chez Daewoo (2003). As an artist, his paintings have been shown in Paris galleries.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:58 (CET).