Money Laundering
Global Britain: The world’s laundromat of choice
Whatever the scandal, whoever the crook, as long as there’s money involved, there’s always a British angle. Britain is where kleptocrats love to put their money, where they come to manage their reputations, and to arrange their affairs. A succession of governments has failed to take this seriously enough, focussing instead on the need to […]
Kleptoscope – What are Trump and Covid doing to the fight against corruption?
In this latest “Kleptoscope, journalist Oliver Bullough is joined by some of the world’s leading experts in the politics and mechanics of corruption, to discuss how the twin threats of Trump and COVID-19 are undermining years of progress, and what we can do about it.
Kleptoscope 10: Welcome to Moneyland!
For Kleptoscope 10 we dive into the secret country of the super-rich, exploring its history, customs, and effect on the rest of us.
Kleptoscope 6: Who Owns London?
The Frontline Club’s regular Kleptoscope evening asks one of the capital’s most pressing political questions: Who Really Owns London? Hosted as usual by investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, the evening will hear the latest research, analysis and insights into the offshore ownership of property, and its use for money laundering and as a store of value. Is the use of London housing as an asset class by the global mega-rich pricing the rest of us out of our own city? And is it even our city anymore?
Kleptoscope 5: Show Me the Money – Corruption, Money Laundering and Inequality
Perhaps a trillion dollars are stolen every year by the rulers of the world’s poorest countries. Hundreds of billions of those dollars find their way into the West, where they buy real estate, luxury goods, fine art, yachts and more. Less than a cent from every stolen dollar is ever returned to the peoples of the countries where the money was stolen. Kleptoscope 5 looks at this under-acknowledged economic catastrophe, and asks why it is so hard to recover assets stolen by kleptocrats. And what role does London play as both a safe haven for looted money, and a laundering centre for money being invested elsewhere?
Kleptoscope #3: Britain’s Offshore Islands
After two successful Kleptoscope talks discussing the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, we come closer to home, with an exploration of Britain’s offshore tax havens. The Channel Islands, and the various overseas territories in the Caribbean and elsewhere pay host to huge capital flows, as well as untold thousands of shell companies, but are they are bad as they are painted?
Kleptoscope #2: London’s Dirty Money
We are delighted to present the second talk in our series of events investigating corruption and dirty money in London: interrogating its origins, its launderers and how it gets spent. Hosted by investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, Kleptoscope unites journalists, campaigners, academics and others to discuss the latest research into the UK’s role as an enabler of global kleptocracy.
Panama Papers: The Inside Story with Frederik Obermaier & Bastian Obermayer
Late one evening, investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer received an anonymous message offering him access to secret data. Through encrypted channels, he subsequently received documents revealing how the president of Argentina had sequestered millions of dollars of state money for private use. This was just the beginning – Obermayer and fellow Süddeutsche journalist Frederik Obermaier soon found themselves immersed in a secret world where complex networks of shell companies help the super-rich to hide their money.
We will be joined by Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier to hear the inside story of what Edward Snowden has called “the biggest leak in the history of data journalism.”
Whistleblowers and Bounty Hunters: Combating Corruption and Organised Crime
“They used to describe Tsarist Russia as monarchy moderated by assassination but now it seems to be total secrecy moderated by insane leaks.”
None to Blame but All to Suffer: The Carbon Crooks + Q&A
By George Symonds What do a dead poet, organised crime and the air we breathe have in common? On Thursday 21 November the Frontline Club screened The Carbon Crooks – director Tom Heinemann’s exposé of the massive fraud and failures within global carbon trading schemes. Heinemann introduced his picture thus: “This film is a about […]