Butler to the World: The Book the Oligarchs Don't Want You to Read - How Britain Helps the World's Worst People Launder Money, Commit Crimes, and Get Away with Anything
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- Create Date：2022-08-06 06:52:15
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- Author：Oliver Bullough
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Summary
In his punchy follow-up to Moneyland， Oliver Bullough's Butler to the World unravels the dark secret of how Britain placed itself at the centre of the global offshore economy and at the service of the worst people in the world…
The Suez Crisis of 1956 was Britain’s twentieth century nadir， the moment when the once superpower was bullied into retreat。 In the immortal words of former US Secretary of State Dean Acheson， ‘Britain has lost an empire and not yet found a role。’ But the funny thing was， Britain had already found a role。 It even had the costume。 The leaders of the world just hadn’t noticed it yet。
Butler to the World reveals how the UK took up its position at the elbow of the worst people on Earth: the oligarchs， kleptocrats and gangsters。 We pride ourselves on values of fair play and the rule of law， but few countries do more to frustrate global anti- corruption efforts。 We are now a nation of Jeeveses， snobbish enablers for rich halfwits of considerably less charm than Bertie Wooster。 It doesn’t have to be that way。
The Suez Crisis of 1956 was Britain’s twentieth century nadir， the moment when the once superpower was bullied into retreat。 In the immortal words of former US Secretary of State Dean Acheson， ‘Britain has lost an empire and not yet found a role。’ But the funny thing was， Britain had already found a role。 It even had the costume。 The leaders of the world just hadn’t noticed it yet。
Butler to the World reveals how the UK took up its position at the elbow of the worst people on Earth: the oligarchs， kleptocrats and gangsters。 We pride ourselves on values of fair play and the rule of law， but few countries do more to frustrate global anti- corruption efforts。 We are now a nation of Jeeveses， snobbish enablers for rich halfwits of considerably less charm than Bertie Wooster。 It doesn’t have to be that way。
Reviews
Alex Turnbull
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superbBoth an credible history and piece of investigative journalism which ends on an impassioned and quite patriotic note。 “Britain is better than that”。 Yes it should be。
Matthew Liu-Picchietti
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Very good。 I don't have enough fluency in banking or law to understand all of the nuance in this book， but the levels of shadiness are easy to see and understand。 Very good。 I don't have enough fluency in banking or law to understand all of the nuance in this book， but the levels of shadiness are easy to see and understand。 。。。more
Simon Mwangi
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A well-written account of what is wrong with current Britain with regard to facilitating financial crimes and how Britain can wean itself of the dangerous 'butler to the world' trait。 According to the author the Suez Crisis， way back in 1956 is the inflection point。 Maybe it is。 Question is， with Brexit now in place will Britain want to stop being a butler to the world？ If so what is at stake？ A well-written account of what is wrong with current Britain with regard to facilitating financial crimes and how Britain can wean itself of the dangerous 'butler to the world' trait。 According to the author the Suez Crisis， way back in 1956 is the inflection point。 Maybe it is。 Question is， with Brexit now in place will Britain want to stop being a butler to the world？ If so what is at stake？ 。。。more
Joan
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This book explains a lot about Britain -- and why so many oligarchs end up there。 It's an important book that helps explain the current situation， and the title is great but unfortunately -- it's boring。 There I've said it。 I know that nonfiction can be interesting， but this reads like a consultant's report。 This book explains a lot about Britain -- and why so many oligarchs end up there。 It's an important book that helps explain the current situation， and the title is great but unfortunately -- it's boring。 There I've said it。 I know that nonfiction can be interesting， but this reads like a consultant's report。 。。。more
Leszek Ciesielski
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If you'd had the pleasure of following Oliver Bullough Kleptocracy walk through London， this is more of that， narrated in his own voice。Chapters on Ukraine oligarch's ties into London upper class （and Russian money laundering） are especially current right now - but so is， surprisingly， the chapter on Suez 1956 crysis。 If you'd had the pleasure of following Oliver Bullough Kleptocracy walk through London， this is more of that， narrated in his own voice。Chapters on Ukraine oligarch's ties into London upper class （and Russian money laundering） are especially current right now - but so is， surprisingly， the chapter on Suez 1956 crysis。 。。。more
Jake
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A forensic lens on the institutionalised financial services available to the super rich in Britain from an ascendancy that are concurrently complicit and complacent。 A disturbing perspective but combination of writing styles make it a tougher read at times。
Oliver
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This one was alright。 Decent introductory overview into a few dodgy parts of the financial system， like Eurodollars， the British Virgin Islands， Gibraltar， Scottish Limited Partnerships， the City of London。 But it's not as in-depth as I would have liked it to have been。 I didn't know Gibraltar had a socialist government though。 This one was alright。 Decent introductory overview into a few dodgy parts of the financial system， like Eurodollars， the British Virgin Islands， Gibraltar， Scottish Limited Partnerships， the City of London。 But it's not as in-depth as I would have liked it to have been。 I didn't know Gibraltar had a socialist government though。 。。。more
Gabriel Yuen
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The book began promisingly but it became increasingly hard to continue after the first third， because it offered little。 I believe a large amount of content can be researched or read online， and lots of the information in this book that the author probably believes will astound its readers - certainly did not astound me and such information are already presumed to be true anyway。Further， this book’s content is not aligned with its tagline on “how Britain helped” persons A， B， C。 I found the book The book began promisingly but it became increasingly hard to continue after the first third， because it offered little。 I believe a large amount of content can be researched or read online， and lots of the information in this book that the author probably believes will astound its readers - certainly did not astound me and such information are already presumed to be true anyway。Further， this book’s content is not aligned with its tagline on “how Britain helped” persons A， B， C。 I found the book focused more on how terrible the result of helping is， or how bad the respective choices or policies the UK made are。 。。。more
Vontel
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Good book to read， helps explain a lot of the intricacies of post-WW2 British changes in the financial world， which affect everyone & almost every country。Writing style is easy to read for a complex subject。 Unfortunately I had to do triage on the stack of library books， with several due within a day or two and in such demand that an extension after 2 weeks wasn't possible。 I read several of the first chapters， then the last chapter or two， to get an overall sense of the book & it's gravity。 Cer Good book to read， helps explain a lot of the intricacies of post-WW2 British changes in the financial world， which affect everyone & almost every country。Writing style is easy to read for a complex subject。 Unfortunately I had to do triage on the stack of library books， with several due within a day or two and in such demand that an extension after 2 weeks wasn't possible。 I read several of the first chapters， then the last chapter or two， to get an overall sense of the book & it's gravity。 Certainly a different view of financial， political & social history of post WW2 Britain than the main exposition often floated around。 Worth coming back to at a later date to read the details of the sections which I wasn't able to read。 。。。more
Maya Pardo
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This book is phenomenal- fascinating， well written， and well researched。 Bullough knows how to tell a story and make really complex issues understandable to a layperson。 Should be required reading for anyone in business or government！ Listened to the audiobook and he has a lovely speaking voice。
Oliver
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incredibly informative， horribly depressing
OjoAusana
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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* loved reading this！ very fascinating， learned a lot reading this。 would recommend and possibly reread。
Mike McCoy
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3。5。 An easy and quick intro to Britain's （and it's colonies'） place in offshore finance and related industries。 I enjoyed the vignettes that Bullough chose for each chapter。 However， it felt a little one sided at times。 I agree that 'someone else will just do it' isn't a great excuse for enabling bad behavior for a fee， but I'd like to have seen more discussion on why 'butlering' is in such high demand。 If Britain is to cut off the supply， other nations need more introspection on why they are g 3。5。 An easy and quick intro to Britain's （and it's colonies'） place in offshore finance and related industries。 I enjoyed the vignettes that Bullough chose for each chapter。 However， it felt a little one sided at times。 I agree that 'someone else will just do it' isn't a great excuse for enabling bad behavior for a fee， but I'd like to have seen more discussion on why 'butlering' is in such high demand。 If Britain is to cut off the supply， other nations need more introspection on why they are generating such a high desire for being 'butlered'。 Overall， the book is worth the read for those interested in the topic。 。。。more
Jamad
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Easy to read and very sobering
Susan
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Boy， did I learn a lot reading Butler to the World。 I had a general knowledge of Gibraltar， Jersey， Guernsey， The Caymans and The British Virgin Islands， the sort of awareness one gets from regular newspaper reading - limited， indeed。 Reading this well researched and very readable book was mind blowing。 As the world struggles these days with the pressures of Covid and war， the US on the brink and the top 1% rakes in the money hand over fist leaving the rest of us to fight for crumbs， there is a Boy， did I learn a lot reading Butler to the World。 I had a general knowledge of Gibraltar， Jersey， Guernsey， The Caymans and The British Virgin Islands， the sort of awareness one gets from regular newspaper reading - limited， indeed。 Reading this well researched and very readable book was mind blowing。 As the world struggles these days with the pressures of Covid and war， the US on the brink and the top 1% rakes in the money hand over fist leaving the rest of us to fight for crumbs， there is a group of oligarchs， et al who do whatever they darned well please。 Britain has found its place as the Jeeves who makes all of the nasty， ugly business possible。 No questions asked。 If questions are asked they are dealt with。As current as Putin and his invasion of Ukraine， much is explained about the current state of affairs and how it has come to pass。 On one hand I was fascinated while at the same time I was horrified。 I'm glad I read Butler to the world but it was depressing， knowing that there are people who will go to any lengths to amass money and power。 That Britain will continue to make it happen regardless of the harm it brings to the rest of the struggling people of this world。My thanks to the publisher St。 Martin's and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Erin Cook
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The City's money don't jiggle jiggle， it folds（This is brilliant and scary） The City's money don't jiggle jiggle， it folds（This is brilliant and scary） 。。。more
Random Books with MJ
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Wow！ I had no idea how Britain was helping the global offshore economy。 This was such an informative and interesting book。 I love the correlations between the butlers of fiction and Britain as a butler。 It definitely provides a perspective that we should all be aware of。On top of the book itself， Bullough narrates it fabulously。 He has the perfect English accent to keep one listening， even if just to hear his voice。 Think of Hugh Grant narrating…need I say anything else？Bullough’s previous book Wow！ I had no idea how Britain was helping the global offshore economy。 This was such an informative and interesting book。 I love the correlations between the butlers of fiction and Britain as a butler。 It definitely provides a perspective that we should all be aware of。On top of the book itself， Bullough narrates it fabulously。 He has the perfect English accent to keep one listening， even if just to hear his voice。 Think of Hugh Grant narrating…need I say anything else？Bullough’s previous book Moneyland is going to the top of my audiobooks to listen to both for the content and the narration。 。。。more
Jesse
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Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC！Butler to the World is a fascinating look at all of the many ways that Britain has become a facilitator for financial crimes。 The author is obviously very well versed on the subject and brings an appropriate amount of humor and levity to the weighty topic at hand。 I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the topic of financial crime （so like everyone that's binging Ozark right now）。 Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC！Butler to the World is a fascinating look at all of the many ways that Britain has become a facilitator for financial crimes。 The author is obviously very well versed on the subject and brings an appropriate amount of humor and levity to the weighty topic at hand。 I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the topic of financial crime （so like everyone that's binging Ozark right now）。 。。。more
Frank
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dbirdan
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3。5
Chris Decker
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Received from Goodreads giveaway。 Pretty easy to read， but really not as interesting as I thought it would be。
Janalyn Prude
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Butler to the world is a book written by financial investigator Oliver below。 In the beginning of the book I found the whole thing about Jeeves very humorous， but the laughs do not last。 Once you get into the book and read about how Britain fights little countries and helps others do the same all you need is a great amount of wealth and they will help you launder your money cater to your needs and even give you great medical care while those of your country suffer。 I thought Mr。 below pulled out Butler to the world is a book written by financial investigator Oliver below。 In the beginning of the book I found the whole thing about Jeeves very humorous， but the laughs do not last。 Once you get into the book and read about how Britain fights little countries and helps others do the same all you need is a great amount of wealth and they will help you launder your money cater to your needs and even give you great medical care while those of your country suffer。 I thought Mr。 below pulled out all the stops in money land， but this book should be on the college roster for how not to run your country。 I mean Britain’s tactics are the same ones that global citizen just wrote a book about except instead of investigating their home country they went out the country define people victimizing the little man through war in tyranny and wreaking in all the big box。 This is a great book and I highly recommend it if you love non-fiction you need to read this book。 It will make you shake your head and caused you to be a little depressed because OMG this is what our leaders are doing。 I was given this book by Net Gally and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own。 。。。more
David Wineberg
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If you're not up on your oligarchs， kleptocrats and millionaire scammers， Oliver Bullough's Butler to the World will come as a major shock。 In it， he shows how both British government and finance have altered or ignored laws， welcomed criminals and exported crime to other countries， all in the name of income。 The City， London’s financial hub， “must be protected at all costs”， no matter how many millions of lives are shattered elsewhere around the world。 The UK will accommodate all who flash a wa If you're not up on your oligarchs， kleptocrats and millionaire scammers， Oliver Bullough's Butler to the World will come as a major shock。 In it， he shows how both British government and finance have altered or ignored laws， welcomed criminals and exported crime to other countries， all in the name of income。 The City， London’s financial hub， “must be protected at all costs”， no matter how many millions of lives are shattered elsewhere around the world。 The UK will accommodate all who flash a wad， no matter where it came from。This is a truly remarkable book。 Bullough builds relentlessly， starting with relatively ordinary crime and insufferable selfishness。 But every chapter steps it up a notch or ten， as the UK and its former colonies engage in a race to the bottom of morality。 It is well researched， well documented， engagingly written， and endlessly diverting。 But the story is revolting。His unifying idea is the classic English butler， Jeeves， who can fix anything for his master， even if he has to bribe or beat up a cop to do it。 The result is always calm seas， and life goes on for Jeeves’ master， Bertie Wooster， spoiled， incompetent upper class brat。 This is Bullough's portrait of the UK。 The country continually finds ways to accept and launder dirty money， offer thieves not just citizenship， but honors， and racks up gigantic financial gains while aiding them to become established， if not sainted。 And because everything financial is hidden， the government benefits not at all。 Everything goes to the boys in The City。 This is not good government。Bullough has a very economic style。 Here's how summarizes what I just explained: "It operates as a gigantic loophole， undercutting other countries’ rules， massaging down tax rates， neutering regulations， laundering foreign criminals’ money。 It’s not just that Britain isn’t investigating the crooks; it’s helping them， too。" It starts hundreds of years ago， when Scotland allowed the formation of limited partnerships， feudal firms that never had to reveal ownership， activities or pay taxes。 Today， numerous firms continue to pop up in Scotland， using the same short list of addresses - private homes where the occupants set up these companies all day long。 Panama is just a spruced-up copy of what the UK invented。The corruption ramps up throughout British history。 Whole chapters of the book are devoted the Suez Canal zone， the BVI， Gibraltar and Scotland。 Gibraltar doesn’t get much press any more， but what happened there is textbook government caving to finance。 Gambling was determined to be the savior of the tiny and artificial economy of this peninsula on a rock， no bigger than a large park。 Casinos and lotteries were the names of the games， and as more and more laws were relaxed or nullified， more gambling entities moved there to escape regulation and taxation。 In the race to the bottom， Gibraltar kept slashing its tax rates for gambling revenues。 They ultimately dropped to 1%， undercutting even the mother country。 Now with the internet， online gambling， horrifically fixed so the customer can never win， and lotteries from all over， base themselves in Gibraltar。 The money of the world flows directly to them， unimpeded by bureaucracy， regulation or financial restrictions。 The amount of money draining from the poor of England alone is stunning。 Thousands of pounds per person per year。 And the British government？ Just watching。 Ironically， the government has had to complain; it loses not only the cash everyone wastes on lotteries， but the companies have moved away so they can’t be taxed， either。 This is the model of what Britain has given to the world。The lessons were learned in the British Virgin Islands， where it dawned on some lawyers that they could make a decent living setting up shell companies for the rich overseas。 It festooned to its logical conclusion in the Cayman Islands， which has been built entirely on shell companies to hide the fortunes of the corrupt elected， dictators， rich executives and of course every kind of criminal imaginable。 An American financial lawyer found the BVI law firm （before the internet， when research was nearly impossible and telephoning was absurdly expensive） and told them what he wanted to set up。 So they did。 He even wrote the laws for island governments to adopt。 The money their customers stole has simply gone missing from the country of origin， denying everyone there all kinds of services。 Bullough uses the example of dirt poor Moldova， where a billion dollars disappeared into shell companies in Scotland。 For the less than a million poor Moldovans， a billion dollars is gigantic， and will not be made up any time soon。 The result is decaying infrastructure and little or no services。 Moldova， like so many other countries， was not poor; it was ripped off。 Worldwide， estimates for money stashed in shell companies is between 12 and 20 trillion dollars。Another example comes from today’s news， where Russian troops invading Ukraine find themselves poorly armed and without food， so that they have to scavenge。 The reason？ The huge buildup in the military budget went into shell companies for top generals and politicians， who all seem to have gigantic yachts in Cypress （another British colony that learned well）， while draftees sent to Ukraine have to deal with food rations that expired （stale-dated） in 2015。 Vladimir Putin’s skimming is estimated to be as high as a hundred billion US dollars。 One of his accounts was discovered in the Panama Papers， where a modest cellist from St。 Petersburg was the named owner of a shell company with a billion US dollars in it。 Turns out he was a neighbor and friend of Putin’s when they were both just starting out。 All this money is simply not going to what it was collected for。 This is why Bullough can say countries like the Caymans， the BVI and most of all the UK are busy exporting poverty and suffering， by importing and investing the ill-gotten gains of criminals。There is a chapter on the considerable lengths the British government has gone to ensure nothing changes。 There have been cases where members of Parliament have （naively） thought they could introduce bills to regulate this known and obvious criminal activity。 The latest is an MP by the name of Roger Mullin:“Unbeknownst to Mullin and indeed to pretty much everyone else， the Treasury and the private equity industry were actually seeking to loosen those same regulations， so limited partnerships would have to report even less information to the authorities than they already did。 They had no interest in whether Eastern European money launderers could or could not do business， but they did want investments to be even more profitable than they already were。 Remember how the Bank of England doomed controls on international money flows in the 1950s？ The Treasury was doing exactly the same thing now。“And the Treasury had a great advantage in this battle， thanks to a little-known provision in parliamentary rules called a legislative reform order。 To get tighter restrictions on SLPs， Mullin needed to pass an actual law，” while loosening the rules only required a simple order to do so。 The great butlering innovation of British finance is called the Eurodollar。 Created in the 1950s， 50 years before the euro currency came into being， it is simply a way for bankers to avoid acknowledging the color of cash。 If dollars are tracked， they can call it a Eurodollar deal and the authorities have no say。 It works the other way just as well。 Bullough compares it to light: it can be a wave or a particle， depending on whatever works at the moment。 Eurodollar trading allows vast pools of money to transit all over the world， instantly， and the taxman can’t touch them， no matter where they land – or they just change labels and move on again。 Here too， there is no direct benefit to the government of the UK， but it keeps The City humming， and those are the people in power。Bullough has a delightful chapter on the people running the Bank of England and the financial companies。 Their old boy network is a strictly closed club， where those inside call each other by first names， and they signify an outsider （from a different school， or God forbid， a university， or worse - Jewish） by addressing them by last name only， even in official communications。 They operate on gut feelings and the need to keep the money pumping。 Who they hurt， including the whole country， is of no concern。 They are money men， and their lives are to keep it coming in。 Law is a distraction to be minimized or eliminated。As early as 1907， records show debates in London using the excuse that Britain would simply lose money if other jurisdictions taxed less than London did， and that there was no point in tightening laws until other countries did so as well。 This twin excuse has succeeded everywhere， all over the world， every time the issue comes up。 The result is this totally amoral race - to the bottom。 And the UK is pretty much there now。Today， regulators that have had their budgets continually slashed are swamped with reports from banks about suspicious accounts and transactions， but they don’t even have the staff to read them all。 So the vast majority of the filings don’t ever get read， just filed， and only a sliver （。04%） have penalties imposed。 Because of this， 98。5% of cases never even get reported。 In other words， the UK offers all but zero chance being caught。 There are 26 responsible financial agencies in the UK， all overstretched， underfunded， and incapable of carrying out their mandates。 It has come to the point where if you are rich enough， you can bring a criminal case yourself in England， because the police can’t afford it。 Con artists have gone to prison and had all their assets seized from these private prosecutions。 This is just as wrong。In one galling story， an accountant from Azerbaijan was ripped off by a Russian con artist in England。 It was a phony bank branch in a gleaming office tower in Hong Kong， as elaborate as anything in the film The Sting。 He got some degree of justice， but the courts were astonishingly more worried about reputational damage to the profession than meting out justice。 As Bullough tells it: “The SRA （Solicitors Regulation Authority） fined him （the con man） £45，000， which is better than nothing， but the ruling revealed that its primary concern was whether Sharif （the victim） had damaged the reputation of his profession and made no mention at all of the damage that money laundering does to the victims of corruption in Azerbaijan。 It took comfort from the fact that ‘no client had suffered loss as a result’ of Sharif’s conduct， which is particularly perverse because the whole point of filing a suspicious activity report is to allow the authorities to confiscate criminal wealth。” This is a stunning condemnation all by itself。In sum， “Britain has essentially outsourced responsibility for stopping money laundering to the money launderers， and is failing to stop dirty money as a result。 Much of the time the same bodies tasked with regulating professionals’ financial transactions are also charged with lobbying government on their behalf， while also relying on those same professionals’ membership fees to keep solvent。” It is business as usual in the UK。 This is Bullough's beat。 He writes about it in numerous publications。 He is even a guide on the London Kleptocracy Tours， where instead of Hollywood film stars' homes， the tours drift past the mansions and flats of the world's biggest thieves。 These are civil servants like Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov， who can somehow afford to give his 21 year old daughter （he is a bigamist with at least two families） her first apartment， a four million pound flat in the fashionable west end。 Meanwhile the Chancellor of the Exchequer has moved out of his Downing Street flat after it was discovered his wife considers herself non-domiciled in Britain so that she pays no taxes on the IT fortune she inherited in her native India。 Instead， they have moved back to their luxury accommodations all the way over in Kensington， a couple of miles west。 Her husband， Rishi Sunak， has called for an investigation， not of his wife’s dodgy finances， but how the world found out about them。 The list is endless。 I realized when I reviewed Bullough’s previous book， Moneyland， that this was the person everyone needs to explain financial shenanigans。 Here， with Butler to the World， he proves it firmly again。 The book is not just shocking， but often laughably so。 It is as entertaining as it is informative。 The UK may be a butler to criminals， but it is a farcical one。 Jeeves would probably take offense。David WinebergIf you liked this review， I invite you to read more in my book The Straight Dope。 It’s an essay collection based on my first thousand reviews and what I learned。 Right now it’s FREE for Prime members， otherwise — cheap！ Reputed to be fascinating and a superfast read。 And you already know it is well-written。 https://www。amazon。com/Straight-Dope-。。。 。。。more
dadooronron0
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Having previously read Kleptopia （Tom Burgis） there are some overlaps。 But Oliver Bullough's book focusses on UK and has this ingenius concept of the UK being a butler。 And it is this thread that binds the chapters together making for an easier read。 Worrying though that we know it's going on， and pretty much encourages it。 At what cost in the long run I wonder？ Having previously read Kleptopia （Tom Burgis） there are some overlaps。 But Oliver Bullough's book focusses on UK and has this ingenius concept of the UK being a butler。 And it is this thread that binds the chapters together making for an easier read。 Worrying though that we know it's going on， and pretty much encourages it。 At what cost in the long run I wonder？ 。。。more
Richard Jones
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First class， easily readable， destruction of my prior belief that Britain was an essentially clean country。 Britain as butler got into the business of no question asked financial services for the rich and corrupt after Suez and loss of empire。 After 70 years we are at such a low state that although Britain continues to butler for kleptocrats and know it is wrong， our leaders excuse it because if we don’t do it someone else will。
Timothy Urban
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A great primer on the amoral nature modern Britain。Britain used to take what it wanted by force。 Now it's forced to get by as a charming Butler who will make sure no one knows where your dirty money is - for a sizeable fee。 This is a fun misery read。 The prose is snappy， and complicated things are neatly explained。 There's also a nice sideline in pithy indignation， which serves to bring home just how horrible and entrenched the grubbiness is。The loopholes the British financial sector exploits to A great primer on the amoral nature modern Britain。Britain used to take what it wanted by force。 Now it's forced to get by as a charming Butler who will make sure no one knows where your dirty money is - for a sizeable fee。 This is a fun misery read。 The prose is snappy， and complicated things are neatly explained。 There's also a nice sideline in pithy indignation， which serves to bring home just how horrible and entrenched the grubbiness is。The loopholes the British financial sector exploits to meet the needs of the world's mafia dons， cheats and kleptos， continues to exist because people in power here have no backbone。 The lawlessness is helped further by Brexit。 （A stated aim of the EU is fair and transparent taxation。） As Bullough points out， the UK government only goes after the money it can reach， so instead of chasing these dirty Trillions， it shuts down libraries， social benefits and legal aid services。 Quite appalling。 。。。more
Joe Cook
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Illuminating。 It is not difficult to read across from the activities chronicled herein to the behaviour of the current Tory party and it’s backers， movers and shakers。 The author writes clearly and explains often complex matters with clarity， just a shame that his writing is permeated with an irritating vein of mild smugness。 Recommended if you care about Britain。
Jacqueline Ferguson
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Another great insight into the world of money corruption and complacency。
Sanford Chee
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