Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World

Written by Tom Burgis

Narrated by Tom Burgis

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘If you think the UK isn't corrupt, you haven't looked hard enough … This terrifying book follows a global current of dirty money, and the murders and kidnappings required to sustain it’ GEORGE MONBIOT, GUARDIAN AN ECONOMIST AND WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

‘When you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down’ MISHA GLENNY, author of MCMAFIA

‘Gripping, disturbing and deeply reported’ BEN RHODES, bestselling author of THE WORLD AS IT IS

In this real-life thriller packed with jaw-dropping revelations, award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis reveals a terrifying global web of kleptocracy and corruption.

Kleptopia follows the dirty money that is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators, enriching oligarchs and poisoning democracies. From the Kremlin to Beijing, Harare to Riyadh, London to the Trump White House, it shows how the thieves are uniting – and the terrible human cost.

A body in a burned-out Audi. Workers riddled with bullets in the Kazakh desert. A rigged election in Zimbabwe. A British banker silenced and humiliated for trying to expose the truth about the City of London – the world’s piggy bank for blood money.

Riveting, horrifying and written like fiction, this book shows that while we are looking the other way, all that we hold most dear is being stolen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Sep 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008308377

Tom Burgis

Tom Burgis is an investigations correspondent at the Financial Times. He has reported from more than forty countries, won major journalism awards in the US and Asia and been shortlisted for eight others, including twice at the British Press Awards. His critically acclaimed book The Looting Machine, about the modern plundering of Africa, won an Overseas Press Club of America award.

Reviews for Kleptopia

[Oleks UA Kozak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very similar to money land. Alot of chapters talk about ex Soviet countries and their corrupt money is leaking into the west. Why? Well the West is selfish and greedy as the East. It great for people who are in business and political industry and even just in general public.

[Sburman101 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Superb book on an extremely serious topic. Best audio book I have listened to.

[Firedrake · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An important book. Everyone should read it. Written in a narrative style with a compelling storyline, it is an excellent read.

[Matthew Gibb · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Unable to finish this baffling book. Every chapter is layered with tons of characters that are not divluged enough to follow the intricate stories Burgis tells. The cover was very compelling, but even by giving this my full uniterrupted attention and taking notes I couldnt follow this.

[Tony Staggs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Delves into the seedy world of dirty money and how it is moved around the globe by the elites and the banksters as well as showing how the mafia and various mobs all have a hand in the global playground of economics and finance. Really interesting read however some points are a little long winded to the point of becoming dull. Overall though the message is clear once you get through it. Apart from the need of some better editing then this is must read for people researching the elite

[Ryan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really good! Just scary how pervasive corruption is and how little is being done about it.

[Dearan Maguire · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Disappointing. I guess this book is intended for an audience who have no idea of how the world is corrupted by dirty money. Sadly no new or shocking revelations.

[martinrubenstein · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is written in such a poor writing style that I first thought I was beginning to suffer from some kind of cognitive failure. I then found, with much relief, that others have the same problem. I listen to the audiobook, and understand nothing. The publisher should have thrown the draft back for a complete re-write in a style accessible to the average reader.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's insane that we all agree to this. And we do. Did you vote Labour? Guess how Blair is making his money. Voted Conservative? Who let City of London continue without any change? And the worst thing about it is that we think it's bad, we just think the money stolen from other countries coming here is worth it. Keep voting. You think our politicians are any dumber than politicians in eastern Europe and can't figure out how to extract money from useful idiots?

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Every man lives his real, most interesting life under cover of secrecy Anton Chekhov, The Lady with The DogAn alternative way of depicting this book is that ruthless thieves rule us. I am confident I am correct in stating that kleptocratic states are becoming increasingly common.I gained two extra terms. The first is ‘kleptocracy’. In a kleptocratic state, the ruler uses political authority to peddle the country’s resources for personal profit. The second, is ‘kakistocracy’. I learned this word while researching kleptocracy. This a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens. If you throw in the word autocracy, you will have a state ruled by one person who concentrates all power in himself/herself.The secret of a great fortune with no apparent cause is a crime that has been forgotten because it was done properly Honore de Balzac, Old GoriotTom Burgis has composed a work about kleptocracies. He has not mentioned kakistocracies, which is a pity. If you analyse this word seriously, you recognize that it is (at one level) related to kleptocratic states. I would state that kleptocracies, kakistocracies and autocracies are linked.The writing is lively. There were occasions I had to warn myself that this is not a crime tale. Tom Burgis has depicted two kleptocratic situations—Africa and Kazakhstan/Ukraine.Evidently, kleptocratic states are not new. In my considered view, we can characterize the escapades of people like Cecil Rhodes and King Leopold in the 19th century as kleptocratic behavior.What is distinct between those times and our current days? Cecil Rhodes and King Leopold were not populists. Many of today’s corrupt leaders are populists. Populism usually rises when resentment and discontent sweep through society. There are many reasons for this, and this is not the place to plunge into this problem. However, Germany after World War I was ready for populism, as was India in 2012-2014. These are conditions in which a populist is most comfortable. He can manipulate the situation, present himself as a guardian angel, and then expels the established order. Yet, a populist creates an order that is worse than the one he supplanted.Political power becomes concentrated in the grip of a few, and kleptocracy rules. A kleptocrat is ruthless. Tom Burgis has painted a highly authentic picture of this ruthlessness in the two cases that he presented in his book. They did not have to knock too hard.’ The London bankers’ and lawyers’ private pursuits matched those of the oligarchs and their retinues. ‘The finest of the finest prostitutes. Any drug you want. Different batches of girls. Limitless money. Limitless.’ from Kleptopia. Tom BurgisThere is another contrast between the 19th century and our years. This is the international scale of the operation. Social media, and the internet has made both—propaganda and cash transfer—much simpler. I don’t know if international banks took a piece of the action in the 19th century, but they do now. The book is a dismal tale of corruption, avarice, cynicism and outright hypocrisy.Nigel of Basingstoke tried to put himself inside a BSI client’s mind. ‘Why would I come to London to set up anaccount in Switzerland in the name of a Cayman Islands entity with directors in Panama? Now, it makesabsolutely no sense unless there is something quite underhand going on.’ from Kleptopia. Tom BurgisTom Burgis presents us with two narratives. One is that of Nigel Wilkins of Basingstoke who tried, through his career, to piece together evidence against the corruption. The other is the account of fraud in Ukraine/Kazakhstan and Africa. This is a tale of greed, cruelty and dictatorial power. The kleptocrats think nothing of torturing protestors and labelling them as anti-national. Neither do they think twice about celebrating ostentatiously while their citizens are infected with Ebola and die gruesome deaths.In his last chapter, Tom gives us with a list of countries controlled by kleptocrats. The USA should thank itself that Donald Trump has been voted out of power. If not, it would have gone the way of the other countries. I am startled that he did not mention India. However, the situation in India may be distinctive in its own manner.Nigel Wilkins died without being able to pursue justice to its bitter end.Tom has weaved a compelling narrative of selfishness, corruption and exploitation of powerThere is one deficiency in the book. The analysis is not deep enough. Earlier in this review, I mentioned kakistocracies and autocracies because I believe they are related. Does democracy exist, except in name? Tom Burgis could have thrown some wisdom into these topics and the interdependences between them.Putting this quibble aside, it is an exceptional book. We ought to be frightened. Most of us lead our lives in complacent bubbles of blissful ignorance.Thieves rule us, and we vote them into power again and again.This is an exceptional book—about racketeers and dupes.