CAPITALISM'S ACHILLES HEEL Dirty Money and How to

CHAPTER 3
DIRTY MONEY
AT WORK
HOW DO I tell the story of trillions of dollars of dirty money lodged
around the world, derived from many types of illegal activities, shifting
across some 200 countries, affecting both economic and political affairs?
It’s not easy. Some writers report tale after tale of illicit dealings, leaving unifying
themes unmentioned. Others delve entertainingly into a particular example
of skullduggery. Still others treat dirty money as just one item on a
laundry list of ills hurting a weakened state.
A French banker said to me something both simple and profound:
“Politicians think nationally. Criminals think globally. They win. We lose.” 1
He’s correct. For people who deal in dirty money, the globe is their playground.
For nations trying to curtail some types of dirty money, their borders
are a major limitation. For me trying to convey the effect of dirty
money, this variety of sources and intermix of geographies, economies, and
legal systems makes for a complicated task.
I have found over the years that the best way to tell the story of dirty
money is by relating the impact of this phenomenon on particular countries.
In other words, global tax evasion, corruption, and crime are important
to understand and at the same time are somewhat fluid, abstract
concepts. But Russia or China or Nigeria or Indonesia or Iraq are nations
about which we already have some understanding. Therefore, while I write
about corruption and crime and tax evasion, I recognize that it is in the illustrations
of what happens in and between countries that the larger
points are best conveyed.
So, in handling this subject matter, two approaches are combined:
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