“Inside the AI Lobby”
Broke the story of undisclosed AI lobbying by a major UK financial institution.
FCA inquiry followed publication · 2.1M reads
Investigative journalist · Senior reporter · London
Kwame Asante
Nine years covering financial crime, tech accountability and African politics — three investigations have triggered regulatory action or parliamentary inquiry.
- 9years in journalism
- 3investigations with a regulatory or parliamentary response
- 400+stories filed for Reuters across 8 countries
- 2.1Monline reads in 48 hours for “Inside the AI Lobby”
Selected clips
Investigations, series and scoops
Long-form investigations for The Guardian, a feature for The Atlantic, and wire reporting from Reuters’ Accra bureau.
“The Remittance Underground”
A six-part series on informal cross-border remittances in West Africa.
Shortlisted, One World Media Award 2023
“$1.2Bn and Counting”
Broke a $1.2Bn government procurement fraud three weeks before official disclosure.
Cited by 14 international outlets
“Crypto’s Shadow Economy in West Africa”
Reporting on crypto’s shadow economy across West Africa, for The Atlantic.
890K reads
Elections and a coup attempt
Reported live from two elections and one coup attempt, with a source network across six West African nations.
400+ stories filed in 3 years
Markets and monetary policy
Covered Bank of Ghana monetary policy, the Ghanaian Stock Exchange and major corporate stories.
3 exclusives picked up by international wire services
Case study
From scoop to inquiry
“Inside the AI Lobby”
The story
Undisclosed AI lobbying by a major UK financial institution.
The reporting
Kwame broke the story from The Guardian’s investigations desk in London.
The outcome
An FCA inquiry followed, and the story was read by 2.1M people online in its first 48 hours.
An investigative journalist with bylines in The Guardian, the Financial Times and The Atlantic.
Kwame leads long-form investigations for The Guardian, each averaging four to six months, and supervises and edits the work of two junior reporters on the investigations desk. Before London he spent three years as Reuters’ West Africa correspondent in Accra, covering Ghanaian politics, ECOWAS developments and financial-sector stories across eight countries — and he began as a business and finance reporter at the Daily Graphic.
- Based inLondon, United Kingdom
- DeskInvestigations, The Guardian
- BylinesThe Guardian, Financial Times, The Atlantic
- Previous postingAccra, Reuters West Africa
- Source network6 West African nations
Beats
What he covers
Record
Newsrooms and training
- Sep 2021 — Now
Senior Reporter — Investigations
The Guardian, London
Leads long-form investigations averaging 4–6 months; three have triggered a direct regulatory or parliamentary response since 2022. Supervises and edits two junior reporters.
- Jul 2018 — Aug 2021
West Africa Correspondent
Reuters, Accra
Bureau correspondent. Filed 400+ stories over three years across eight countries; reported live from two elections and one coup attempt.
- Jun 2016 — Jun 2018
Reporter — Business & Finance
Daily Graphic, Accra
Monetary policy, markets and corporate stories; three exclusives picked up by international wire services.
- 2014 — 2016
MA Journalism (International)
City, University of London
Distinction. Thomson Reuters Foundation Scholar.
- 2010 — 2014
BA Communications Studies
University of Ghana, Legon
First Class Honours.
Recognition
Awards and shortlists
- Paul Foot Award — shortlisted, Investigative Journalism2024
- One World Media Award — shortlisted, Print/Online2023
- Reuters Journalist of the Year — West Africa Region2020
Contact
Got a tip or a commission?
kwame.asante@email.com
- +44 7700 901 234
- London, United Kingdom
- kwameasante.com
- twitter.com/kwameasante
Fictional candidate — contact details shown as plain text only.