Bribe, Swindle or Steal

International sports expert, Declan Hill, returns to the podcast to discuss the FIFA trial that concluded in late December and the outlook for meaningful reform.

Freelance journalist Nicolas Niarchos joins the podcast to discuss his excellent piece in the New Yorker: The Dark Side of Congo’s Cobalt Rush. He also describes his recent incarceration and that of his Congolese colleague, Jeef Kazadi, during their ongoing investigation in the DRC.

Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and author of Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption, joins the podcast to discuss the early days of his Global Witness investigations, how their efforts gained momentum and where we should be focusing our attention next.

Paul Holden of Shadow World Investigations joins the podcast to discuss the South African Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (“Zondo Commission”).  He describes the extensive corruption and money-laundering enabled by banks and international corporations and makes a prediction about whether the Gupta brothers, recently arrested in Dubai, will be extradited to South Africa.

Omar Alshogre, refugee, political activist and Georgetown University student, shares the wrenching story of his three years as a political prisoner in the worst of Syria’s prisons. He discusses the role that extortion plays there, simultaneously delegitimizing the regime further and propping it up financially.   Episode resources:  Mentioned at (00:33): The Syrian Emergency Task Force Mentioned at (00:45): Omar's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 11 March 2020

Jim Wasserstrom spoke at the TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting in Vancouver last month, describing his own experience as a whistleblower and his commitment to building an Integrity Sanctuary where whistleblowers can recover and flourish in safety.

Khadija Ismayilova spoke at the TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting in Vancouver last week, describing the risks to whistleblowers and what we can do to encourage and protect them.

Oliver Bullough, Tom Burgis and Sarah Chayes, authors of three of the best books on global corruption, gather for a panel at the Annapolis Book Festival for a fascinating discussion about how the corrupt operate, often with impunity, and what can be done to slow the pace of looting.

Oliver Bullough joins the podcast again to discuss his latest book, out this week:  Butler to the World.  The book addresses how the UK went from a colonial power dominating the world to a service provider—or butler or perhaps consigliere—to the world’s oligarchs.

Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post describes the sleaze and corruption that compromised the top ranks of the Seventh Fleet.