Bribe, Swindle or Steal

Renee Dudley of ProPublica discusses her fascinating research into the unsettling world of ransomware: how it works, the role that “recovery services” play and where the ransom money ends up.

Ike Sorkin, lawyer to both Madoff and Belfort, talks us through their criminal financial schemes and how regulatory safeguards failed.

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.

Josh Kirschenbaum is a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy and formerly served as acting director of the Office of Special Measures at Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). He joins the podcast to discuss investment funds and the gaping loophole they create through which vast sums of money can move with no accountability.

Diana Henriques drew on her years of financial journalism and extraordinary access to the title character to write the definitive book about Bernie Madoff. It was turned into an HBO movie in early 2017 starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Diana, playing herself.

Ariel Meyerstein, Senior Vice President, Sustainability & ESG at Citi, shares his insight into human rights, climate change and social justice challenges and the new momentum propelling ESG in the private sector.

Jodi Vittori, with the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Research, discusses the UN Security Council’s March report on Libya.

In our last podcast before the US election, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody describe with passion their work with the International Rescue Committee. They tell us what America as a haven means to them and mourn the news that 545 children separated from their parents on the US southern border cannot be restored to their parents. They conclude with a fervent appeal to Americans to turn out to vote in this election.

Jeff Wright, managing partner of Actium Capital, shares a rare private investor perspective on compliance in international deals.

Bill Steinman of Steinman & Rodgers provides a primer on offsets and the compliance challenges they present.