How London became the world’s dirty money capital

The Bunker

Podmasters

News, Politics, Society & Culture, Government

4.6 • 984 Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nearly 40 per cent of the world’s dirty money flows through London, but what role have British institutions played in helping wealthy elites launder cash? Today on The Bunker, Tom Mayne, journalist and co-author of Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption, joins Seth Thévoz to discuss how deregulation, weak enforcement, and the UK’s libel laws have enabled corruption to thrive in the capital. Buy Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Charlie Duffield and Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Like the podcast but not the adverts, support us on Patreon and get every episode ad-free.
0:05.6	Follow the link in the show notes to find out more.
0:08.2	This Sunday, a Derby rivalry resumes in the Premier League.
0:12.3	As Manchester United host Manchester City at Old Trafford.
0:15.8	What a game!
0:16.7	And you can stream every moment live on Sky Sports.
0:20.4	Available with no contract with Now.
0:22.9	Take a bow some.
0:24.2	Stream Manchester United versus Manchester City this Sunday from 4pm.
0:28.9	Well, it's just wonderful.
0:30.2	Head to NowTV.com.
0:31.9	18 plus Sky Sports content streamed via internet.
0:35.8	Full terms apply.
0:46.2	Music Sky Sports content streamed via internet. Full Terms Apply. Hello and welcome to The Bunker. You'll need to know on news and politics. I'm Seth Teville.
0:51.7	Listeners to The Bunker are no strangers, the tales of bribery, corruption,
0:55.9	dodgy oligarchs. Dealing with such topics, a major new book by Oxford University Press just came out.
1:01.9	Indulging kleptocracy, British service providers, post-communist elites, and enabling corruption.
1:08.4	It looks at why the UK is such a magnet for this shadowy world,
1:12.2	and I'm joined here by one of the authors, Tom Mayne of Exeter University. Welcome to the bunker, Tom.
1:16.8	Thank you. Great to be here. We often look at countries like Russia and call them kleptocracies.
1:21.5	Maybe we can start by just defining what do we mean by a kleptocracy.
1:24.7	Sure. Well, the etymology means rule by thieves, but when we look at it in detail,
	...

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