Bribe, Swindle or Steal

Listen to the riveting first-hand story of a Unaoil executive who found himself at the center of a bribery scheme.

Walt Pavlo discusses the accounting fraud at MCI that led to his two-year prison sentence, his book “Stolen Without a Gun: Confessions from inside history’s biggest accounting fraud,”and his second career with Prisonology

Peter Elkind tells the story of the Enron financial scandal; it’s a timely refresher on that corporate disaster as the Trump Administration rolls back financial regulations.

Sarah Chayes describes her time in Afghanistan and discusses the link between corruption and national security.

Jack Ewing of the New York Times in Frankfurt discusses his excellent book, “Faster, Higher, Farther: The Volkswagen Scandal,” and the outrageous fraud and cover-up uncovered by a handful of WVU students.

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

Will Fitzgibbon of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) joins the podcast with an update on last year’s FinCEN Files story, including a prison sentence for the whistleblower who leaked the information.

Author and business radio host Jim Campbell discusses his recent book about Bernie Madoff, his Ponzi scheme and his lack of remorse, based on extraordinary access to Madoff and members of his family and team. Jim's book is "Madoff Talks: Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History."

Joel Bakan joins the podcast to discuss his books, and the films based on them. He outlines the fundamental conflict inherent in companies ostensibly committed to ESG principles while simultaneously driven by a legal requirement to maximize shareholder value. Episode resources: Mentioned at (03:30): The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (book), by Joel Bakan, 2003 Mentioned at (03:30): The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (film), 2004 Mentioned at (03:30): The New Corporation: How "Good" Corporations are Bad for Democracy (book), by Joel Bakan, 2020 Mentioned at (03:30): The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (film), by Joel Bakan, 2020 Mentioned at (11:11): Moneyland, by Oliver Bullough, 2019 Learn more about Joel's work here.

Investigative reporter Sam Cooper describes the waves of drugs and laundered money from China crashing on Canada’s shores. Sam's new book is “Wilful Blindness: How a Network of Narcos, Tycoons, and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West.”