Grateful to @anneapplebaum and @TheAtlantic for reviewing AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY (alongside the great @tomburgis)!

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
‘Conveying the full picture of corruption, from a scheme’s inception to its long-term ramifications, is a big challenge. American Kleptocracy and Kleptopia required years of careful reporting; they both, in turn, require concentration to read.’ theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
'[Trump's] presidency should serve as a warning: If democratic societies do not wake up to the spread of corruption among self-interested rulers and their enablers, they may find themselves not just broke and impoverished, but voiceless and unfree.' theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

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More from @cjcmichel

6 Dec
Fantastic, in many ways unprecedented, new strategy document from the White House on countering corruption/kleptocracy: whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
One of the clear through-lines of the new U.S. anti-corruption strategy: recognizing that the U.S. is a "significant destination for laundered proceeds of illicit activity." Specifically singles out American:

—Shell companies
—Real estate
—Private equity/hedge funds
Absolutely fantastic to see the White House specifically call out American "enabling" professionals—lawyers, accountants, trust providers, etc.

*And* the White House comes out in support of increased anti-money laundering regulations on these enablers.

whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
Read 6 tweets
4 Dec
Some staggering numbers in this new report, on just how open the U.S. private investment/private equity/hedge fund markets are for gargantuan money laundering schemes:
The U.S. private investment market has:

—over $11 trillion dollars in assets
—~13,000 investment advisers
—minimal anti-money laundering regulations
—the "perfect confluence of factors that make it an ideal place to hide and launder the proceeds of corrupt/criminal activity"
One of the chapters of AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY (which you can purchase now!) looks specifically at how private equity/hedge funds in the U.S. have become massive money laundering vehicles unto themselves—and which networks (and oligarchs) have taken advantage.
Read 4 tweets
18 Nov
🇬🇧UK folks: AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY is out TODAY! Read all about how:

—The US challenged the UK for the offshoring crown
—Oligarchs have begun targeting the American heartland
—Kleptocracy has begun upending both American politics and the US-UK alliance

scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/… Image
Total estimated private wealth now hidden in financial secrecy jurisdictions? $24-32 trillion.

If the offshoring world was a country, it would rival the US or China in terms of scope. An invisible superpower. Image
💸Huge thanks to @CFCS_RUSI, @OliviaJKearney, @keatingetom, the entire @RUSI_org team, and the great Elise Bean for hosting a talk today on my new book on modern kleptocracy—available here if you missed it: rusi.org/events/open-to…
Read 4 tweets
4 Nov
NEW: Democrats are poised to save an agency that's on life support, and that is key to unwinding the offshore world: the IRS.

newrepublic.com/article/164269…
Look at any data point, and the story is the same. Collapsing audits. Collapsing investigations. Collapsing resources. Hell, the IRS now has fewer auditors than any time since *World War II*.

The IRS is a shell of its former self. All while the offshoring world has exploded.
But the IRS didn't wilt on its own.

It was slowly gutted by congressional Republicans over the past quarter-century—even while the U.S. blossomed into a gargantuan offshore haven of its own.

newrepublic.com/article/164269…
Read 8 tweets
24 Oct
Those who fought in the Texas Revolution (or Texas Revolt) fought “to form what became the single most militant slave nation in history.” Image
This passage is maybe the clearest distillation I’ve ever seen of how central slavery—and the protection, expansion, and entrenchment of slavery—was to the Texas Revolt: Image
(These are from: npr.org/2021/06/16/100…)
Read 8 tweets
20 Oct
NEW: Franklin Graham had a one-on-one meeting with a sanctioned Russian official in Moscow earlier this year—and the only reason we know about it is the Russian government. thebulwark.com/franklin-graha…
Franklin Graham didn't post, share, or announce anything about his meeting with a sanctioned Russian official. We only know about it from a Duma readout.

In a new statement, Graham said the meeting with his sanctioned counterpart was "excellent."

thebulwark.com/franklin-graha…
Franklin Graham has now become the highest-profile American meeting with a Russian official directly sanctioned by the U.S.—and he's done so multiple times the past few years.
Read 8 tweets

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