Moneyland by Oliver Bullough – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Investigative journalist Oliver Bullough reveals the obscene dark side of globalised finance, a shadow realm of oligarchs and gangsters, unimaginable power and zero accountability. It’s a place you are unlikely to visit, buy you can see its effects everywhere. Just look around. 

How did we get here? In the 1950s, a small group of bankers in London had a clever idea: ‘offshore’, an imaginary zone where money could flow free. Their breakthrough created a vast reservoir of secret wealth, one that bends the laws of every nation on Earth in order to protect its masters. 

Thanks to offshore, for the first time thieves could dream big. They could take everything – which is exactly what they will do, unless we stop them.’

Moneyland is a book with the subtitle – Why Thieves & Crooks Now Rule the World & How to Take it Back, from the investigative journalist Oliver Bullough. Moneyland is the term the author uses for describing the current financial structure. The case is built over nineteen chapters in the book as to how in this hypothetical country sans physical presence, those with money can legally enjoy their wealth, regardless of its source. 

He begins building the case with Ukraine – and this is taken as the prime example of kleptocracy throughout the book where corruption is so rampant and still; how their former President Viktor Yanukovych had large amount of wealth in London. He also describes how even most basic healthcare services cannot be obtained in Ukraine without bribery. He then describes the problem in most developing nations in Africa or former Soviet states as to how; there is extreme inequality with those in power holding unusual amounts of wealth, all hidden in offshore assets and with properties all over the world, expensive clothes and watches (for which he gives the example of Angola), etc. It was an interesting observation he made that in the Corruption Perception Index from Transparency International; while countries like Angola or Ukraine have a very low rank, their wealth is stashed away in UK, Switzerland, Cyprus, etc. who rank very high on the corruption index and in a way, they are guilty. 

He also talks about how corruption can completely destroy the economic prospects of a country and criticises Western complacency over developing nations that they would eventually transform themselves into economies similar to that of the developed world. However, he explains how it is against the interests of those in power to be more transparent and so long as they are able to hide their assets, they prefer maintaining the status quo. 

The author writes about various financial instruments and how they have been misused, be it the Eurodollar bonds, or the offshore companies in Cayman Islands or Saint Kitts and Nevis, how even diplomatic immunity is available for purchase, the misuse of libel laws in London and so on for if I keep going, I would be listing all the chapters. While I appreciated the deep research involved in all of these topics – it was evident considering the sources mentioned at the end of the book; however, I had an issue with some of the sweeping statements, an example of which I am giving below:

‘You may have read how millions of dollars have been sent back to Nigeria, Indonesia, Angola or Kazakhstan, and that is true. But they represent less than one cent of every dollar that was originally stolen.’ Chapter – Aladdin’s Cave, Page #13

While I am not defending the record of any of these countries but when such statements are made in a book of this kind, it must be backed by sources and number. How many millions went back to the countries (some references are made in future chapters) and what is his basis for making the less than one cent for every dollar allegation? He probably has a basis for this claim but I expected a footnote or some such detail and considering this was something I read in the very first chapter, it put me off. 

I appreciate the author for building the case against corruption and I could relate to most of the examples considering I lived most of my life in a country which ranks 78 in the Corruption Perception Index and many of the problems he cited in Ukraine are very similar. His fundamental basis for making the case was ‘money could move borders, but laws do not’ and thus, how the corrupt manage to move their stolen wealth to countries with favourable laws and exploit the same.

The author admits that there could be genuine reasons to use offshore accounts to hide their money from vindictive governments but the issue of laws being different is fundamental to the very fact of us having so many different jurisdictions in the world. The reason why I am saying jurisdiction instead of country is because the author explains how within US, they exploit favourable laws in Nevada making it a de facto tax haven. 

The author also cracks down on the ability to purchase passports and while it is true that many exploit it, it is also a very practical solution in many cases. Imagine a business person holding a passport and is called for a meeting by the client; someone holding the right passport just needs a ticket, otherwise, you need to apply for a visa and prove your credentials and tell your client to wait till then which simply isn’t practical. The author being someone who holds a British passport would never be able to understand the pain of a visa application process; I can even cite a personal example where I once joked with a HR in one of their random questions – ‘what would you do if you win a lottery?’ to which I responded that I would secure a Maltese nationality. Much as I would like to satisfy requirements in a proper way, if there is a legal alternative available, I would take it in a heartbeat; a lot of opportunities are denied for the sheer lack of a passport and thus, several countries are definitely going to offer schemes to overcome this ridiculous system currently in the world which has no logic whatsoever.

To end the digression, I would say that I certainly enjoyed reading the book but the author did mention ‘how to take it back’ and all he did was dedicate one chapter to it; that too mentioning that he does not have a very clear solution. I am fine with that, the author I understand is not from a banking / financial services / legal background and has presented the case well; but in that case, he should have refrained from promising the sky in the cover page.

To conclude, the book is informative, and can be read by those who are not finance professionals as well (no unexplained jargons); and my hint is do not be deceived by the title. I shall not let what I disagree with on a personal level get in the way of my review (like the passport issue) and so, I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy