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Power Corrupts

The Greatest Heists You’ve Never Heard Of

Power Corrupts

Brian Klaas

News, Politics, 498122

4.82K Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2019

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When you think of heists, you probably think of masked men, bank robbers, and priceless art. But governments carry out heists, too. In this episode, we explore a billion dollar bank heist carried out by North Korean hackers; a heist carried out by a dictator who pledged to rule for a billion years (and was obsessed with mayonnaise); and a jewel heist that destroyed diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand for a generation.

Support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/powercorrupts

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Power Corrupts is written and narrated by Brian Klaas. The executive producer and sound editor is George McDonagh.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thank you for listening to Power Corrupts. We make this show because we think it's important not to make money,

0:05.4

but it does cost money to make episodes. If you want to help us stay editorially independent,

0:10.5

please consider supporting our work in one of two ways.

0:14.0

First, pre-order my new book, Corruptible, Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us,

0:19.0

which comes out on November 9, 2021.

0:22.0

It's an exploration of the bizarre fascinating ways in which humans relate to

0:26.0

power that ranges from everything from corrupt beehives to the time I took a ski lesson with a man who

0:31.8

once ruled Iraq. If you like this

0:34.0

podcast I promise you love the book. Second, join a community of

0:38.4

supporters and get access to exclusive bonus content by going to Patreon.com slash power corrupts.

0:46.0

For just three dollars a month you'll get access to early episodes and at different tiers

0:49.9

you can get bonus content like uncut interviews as well as the possibility of a

0:54.0

Zoom meet and greet with my producer George and myself. If you don't support the

0:58.8

show I'll be forced to bombard you with ads about socks and job recruitment schemes and mortgage websites and nobody wants that.

1:05.0

But seriously, thank you for listening and for your support. Friday, February 5th, 2016, was a day like any other in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, a city of 18 million people.

1:21.0

Bicycle Rickshaws battled with cars at chaotic intersections. Food vendors

1:26.8

prepared to roe shrimp cabs for lunch as they hocked breakfast flatbreads

1:30.6

to pedestrians. And even though Friday is the first day of the weekend in Bangladesh,

1:37.1

Zuber bin Huda was on his way to work, covering a weekend shift at the Bangladesh Central Bank.

1:48.8

Benhuda took the elevator up to the ninth floor and like other morning, he walked back to check on the

1:54.4

overnight activity in the bank's computers, checking the system and looking over the

1:58.4

printouts that were spit out automatically as transactions took place when

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