Secrecy World

Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite

De: Jake Bernstein

Narrado por: Jake Bernstein

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 Audio

Interesting Reveal of an Unknown World!

Good narration, crazy story. Amazing this went down as I was growing up and I knew nothing about it. Cool to learn about

Chapter 10, he is yelling at me.

One-sided, predictable, biased, but interesting. Narration is a little over the top. He mostly goes after easy targets. Takes predictable, acceptable opinions and stances on these easy targets/examples.

The best reporting on the subject

Superb investigative journalism. Excellent story telling combined with smart and detailed reporting on the people and the actions past and present

Extremely informative

Great book! I remember hearing about the scandal with the Panamá Papers but never knew the details and how really their scam was. Now I have a better understanding on the details and how they grew the firm.

Excellent in all ways!

Absolutely fantastic and its in-depth reporting of something that cannot be done so in the pages of a newspaper

Fulfills its promise admirably

I liked this better than the original Panama Papers book (also here on audible). The previous book was rather preoccupied with the experiences and fears of a couple of reporters. This one ranges further, with ease. It is colorfully told, with not only nuts and bolts of deals, but personalities and locations neatly described, and broader histories, with more background, into the laws and concepts behind the surfaces we see. This sort of business spans Fortune 100 firms, wealthy folks seeking privacy for understandable reasons, pretty dire international criminals, and everything in between. There are many dimensions to all this, and this work moves fluently from one to another. As it turns out, the regions, governments and cultures have their own points of view, and all this is deftly captured here. The author's narration is not shining, but serviceable enough.

Outstanding book, enlightenment

This is a terrific view of how the world works. must read for everyone who cares.

Pronunciation

The author is an ok narrator but he should take the time (30 minutes) to learn to pronounce Medvedev, Nazarbaev, dacha and a few other terms. For many years I was a reader (as opposed to a speaker) and I mispronounced many words in my head... that's ok! Speakers can help you learn to pronounce out loud... seek them out!

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.

Extremely enlightening, accurate, and fair.

We learn an immense amount about who is financially connected to who worldwide. Despite their public denials, and feigned memory loss. Factually and unequivocally damning for the current person occupying the Oval Office of the United States, as well as the current Russian president.

Extremely thorough and entertaining

Loved the insight into how the rich hide their wealth, and how far reaching it really is!
Great listen for anyone curious about offshore bank accounts and so much more.