Extra episode: Tom Burgis - investigative journalist (formerly FT now with The Guardian) and author (’Looting Machine’ and ’Kleptopia: how dirty money is conquering the world’

Leaders in Finance Podcast

In an extra episode, recorded live from the Leaders in Finance AML Europe Event in Brussels, we interviewed renowned investigative reporter and award winning author Tom Burgis.

Formerly he was with the Financial Times and currently he is with The Guardian. As an author he wrote books like "The Looting Machine" and "Kleptopia: how dirty money is conquering the world'. See for more information on Tom Burgis and his work: https://tomburgis.com/

Topics and questions that were discussed:

1. If you wanted to be a global successful kleptocrat, what should you do?
2. Kleptocracies and global networks
3. Why the word 'enablers' is troubling, i.e. it wrongly suggests a secondary role for places like London versus for example Kazakhstan
4. How power leads to money and money leads to more power
5. Oligarchs are often non ethnic from the country of the dictator
6. Corruption in the West and use of euphemisms
7. Financial, legal and political systems in the West absorbing huge quantities of wealth
8. Using politics (in kleptocracies AND in the West) to enrich yourself
9. What the invasion of Ukraine has changed in our thinking
10. Undermining the rule of law
11. The trouble of opaque legal structures: why are we not able/willing to tackle this in the West?
12. The role of privacy and vested interests
13. The role of banks: fighting financial crime versus satisfying regulators/being compliant
14. Prevention of money laundering is outsourced to the private sector
15. Money is global, law enforcement is mainly national
16. Some real big criminals don't need to hide
17. Understaffed law enforcement agencies
18. You seem to be someone that is not scared working in crazy places and writing about people with a lot of power?
19. Will there be another book?

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Previous guests were among many others: Klaas Knot (President Dutch Central Bank - DNB), Robert Swaak (CEO ABN AMRO), David Knibbe (CEO NN), Janine Vos (Managing Board Rabobank), Frank Elderson (Board ECB), Jos Baeten (CEO ASR), Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos), Nadine Klokke (CEO Knab), Gita Salden (CEO BNG Bank), Annerie Vreugdenhil (CIO ING), Karien van Gennip (CEO VGZ), Chantal Vergouw (CEO Interpolis), Simone Huis in 't Veld (CEO Euronext), Nout Wellink (former President Dutch Central Bank), Anneka Treon (MD Van Lanschot), Onno Ruding (former minister of finance), Maurice Oostendorp and Martijn Gribnau (CEOs Volksbank), Olaf Sleijpen (Director DNB), Allegra van Hövell-Patrizi (CEO Aegon NL), Yoram Schwarz (CEO Movir), Laura van Geest (Chairwoman Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets - AFM) Katja Kok (CEO Van Lanschot Kempen CH), Ali Niknam (CEO bunq), Nick Bortot (CEO BUX), Matthijs Bierman (MD Triodos NL), Peter Paul de Vries (CEO Value8), Barbara Baarsma (CEO Rabo Carbon Bank), Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen (Chair Aon Holdings), Annemarie Jorritsma (a.o. Chair NVP), Lidwin van Velden (CEO Dutch Water Bank - NWB), Don Ginsel (CEO Holland Fintech), Mary Pieterse-Bloem (Professor Erasmus University), Jan-Willem van der Schoot (CEO Mastercard NL), Tjeerd Bosklopper (CEO NN NL), Joanne Kellermann (Chair PFZW), Steven Maijoor (Chair ESMA), Radboud Vlaar (CEO Finch Capital), Karin van Baardwijk (CEO Robeco) and Annette Mosman (CEO APG).
--> between brackets the job title at the time of the interview.