In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran Beer talks with Oliver Bullough, award-winning reporter for The Guardian, about his latest book, Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals.
During their conversation, Bullough details how Britain and its territories became a favored facilitator for many of the world’s kleptocrats, having transformed a financial system that once served the country’s global empire into one adept at “investing” illicit funds and serving the whims of transnational criminals. A Russian studies specialist, Bullough expresses guarded optimism about recent U.K. legislative and regulatory developments in response to the invasion of Ukraine that may be a step toward ending Britain’s role as butler to the world’s financial criminals.
