
Secrecy World
Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite
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Narrated by:
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Jake Bernstein
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By:
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Jake Bernstein
About this listen
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Bernstein takes listeners inside the scandalous world revealed by the Panama Papers, a landscape of illicit money, political corruption, and fraud on a global scale.
A hidden circulatory system flows beneath the surface of global finance, carrying trillions of dollars from drug trafficking, tax evasion, bribery, and other illegal enterprises. This network masks the identities of the individuals who benefit from these activities, aided by bankers, lawyers, and auditors who get paid to look the other way. In Secrecy World, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jake Bernstein explores this shadow economy and how it developed, drawing on millions of leaked documents from the files of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca - a trove now known as the Panama Papers - as well as other journalistic and government investigations. Bernstein shows how shell companies allow the uber wealthy and celebrities to escape taxes and provide cover for illicit activities on a massive scale by crime bosses and corrupt politicians across the globe.
Bernstein has traveled to Latin America and Europe and within the United States to uncover how these strands fit together - who is involved, how they operate, and the real-world impact. He also recounts how Mossack Fonseca was finally exposed and what lies ahead for the corporations, banks, law firms, individuals, and governments that were implicated.
Secrecy World offers a disturbing and sobering view of how the world really works and raises crucial questions about financial and legal institutions we may once have trusted. This audiobook discusses the fragile scaffolding upholding any tax haven, the flexible laws of banking, and the radiating impact of an international financial scandal.
©2017 Journo Productions, LLC (P)2017 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Mike Reaves on 01-28-23
By: Andy Greenberg
Interesting Reveal of an Unknown World!
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Chapter 10, he is yelling at me.
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The best reporting on the subject
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Extremely informative
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Excellent in all ways!
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Fulfills its promise admirably
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Outstanding book, enlightenment
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Otherwise, this is a very informative book on the nuts and bolts of tax evasion and tax avoidance through offshore shell companies. I was amazed at how small some of the accounts were that sought to avoid taxes... in some cases only hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why would you risk jail or public ridicule just to avoid these fairly nominal taxes? The only answer that I could come up with is that the wealthy are willing to cut off their nose to spite their face! It's actually a badge of honor to cheat the government... something you can tell your friends about while cruising the Mediterranean on your yacht.
Pronunciation
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Extremely enlightening, accurate, and fair.
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Great listen for anyone curious about offshore bank accounts and so much more.
Extremely thorough and entertaining
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