How Do Eurasian Kleptocracies Earn and Use Their Money?
This event explores the presence of corrupt funds from Eurasia in Western democracies, what they are used for, and how they can be constrained.
Ben Keith speaks at Chatham House on 9 November 2021
RESEARCH EVENT, PANEL RECORDING
9 NOVEMBER 2021 — 1:00PM TO 2:30PM
CHATHAM HOUSE AND ONLINE
The Pandora Papers once again shone the spotlight on the UK being home to corrupt funds from kleptocracies, where the ruling elite abuse their political power for private gain.
In recent years much focus has been placed on this term, and the possible effects such money could have on Western democracies.
How do such states create this wealth in the first place?
How do these funds make their way to the UK?
Is the term kleptocracy appropriate for the majority of countries in Eurasia?
What evidence is there that such funds are ‘weaponized’ to achieve foreign policy goals?
This event discusses the term, how it can be applied, and the differences between how ’grey’ funds are used by various countries. It also highlights how the UK and the wider international community can counteract these flows, both from a legal point of view, and via other methods.
Participants
Thomas Mayne, Visiting Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
Isobel Koshiw, Investigative journalist
Ben Keith, Barrister, 5SAH
Oliver Bullough, Contributor to the Guardian and author of Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back
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