Philanthropist is a great word, deriving as it does from an ancient Greek term for “love of humankind”. In theory it could describe almost any decent person but, in practice, it is reserved for very rich people – Mackenzie Scott, Bill Gates, Roger Federer – who demonstrate that love by spending lots of money. It The post Tax-dodging philanthropists & Whitewashing autocrats appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
There has been much speculation in financial circles that the White House’s erratic policymaking, random tariffs, and general shoot-from-the-hip approach could undermine the global role of the dollar, which could perhaps be replaced by the euro. I have no insight into that but I am confident that Europe’s single currency won’t replace greenbacks as criminals’| Coda Story
One of the organizers addressing the strikers after the management failed to show up to negotiations. Photo courtesy of epress.am. LeftEast has kept the author of this article anonymous to protect them. From January 31st to February 10th, workers at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) in southern Armenia, the country’s largest mining company and its biggest taxpayer, went on a wildcat strike to protest what they described as inhumane and unsafe working conditions and unfairly low ...| Lefteast
There are now several books about the 2007-8 financial crisis, the best of which, in my opinion, is Adam Tooze’s ‘Crashed’. But the one that everyone remembers is Michael Lewis’s ‘The Big Short’, later made into a movie starring Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt. Its narrative of misfits spotting the mistake The post A Crypto-fueled Crash, How Blockchain Blunts Sanctions & MBS’ Folly appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
Some terms – such as “virtue signalling” – are irritating and illuminating in equal measure. The insult “grant eater”, which is widely used in the former Soviet Union, is one of them. It is used to describe non-governmental organisations that rely on funding from abroad, specifically from Western countries, and bluntly suggests that they serve The post Zelensky backs down, Art-loving launderers & Tracking Jho Low appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
No one becomes an anti-corruption activist to make money, least of all in Ukraine. When I first met the co-founders of the Anti-Corruption Action Center – Vitaliy Shabunin and Daria Kaleniuk – back in 2014, they were already veterans of state persecution, and have become only more experienced in the decade since. AntAC has pioneered The post Ukraine clamps down on anti-corruption activists appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
I’m sure I’m not the only person who secretly likes a one-star review. It’s awful to get one yourself (and I have, several times), but I have to admit that there is a nasty kind of pleasure to be had from reading at length how someone else’s restaurant, film, album or book is awful. So, The post Systemic Rot, the Launderers at ‘Buckingham Palace’ & Zombie Trusts appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
In today’s media landscape, everyone seems to have an opinion on its problems: the struggle for control, the relentless pursuit of profit, and the ever-popular blame game. But let’s try a different angle. What if, just for kicks, we imagine a world a decade from now where media isn’t just a profit-churning machine, but something…Read more Is There A Future For Journalism?| Content Matters
I am a regular listener to Ezra Klein’s podcast, and I’m a fan. There should be more podcasts that treat serious issues seriously, but there’s something he said back in April when talking about the root cause of problems on the Left of politics that has concerned me since I heard it. “It’s not just The post The Men Who Bought the World appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
When I lived in Bishkek 25 years ago, then-president Askar Akayev was so effusive in expressing his desire for Kyrgyzstan to become the Switzerland of Central Asia that the Swiss ambassador once joked that Akayev liked his homeland better than he did. It was a pretty understandable hope – who wouldn’t want their poor ex-Soviet The post Crypto’s backdoor through Bishkek appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
Years of sanctions have substantially weakened the Iranian economy, as evidenced by Iran’s keenness to have them cancelled, with sanctions removal a key sticking point in negotiations with the U.S. before Israel began bombing Iranian nuclear sites on June 13. But anyone who thinks sanctions are an all-powerful tool should spend some time speaking to| Coda Story
Coda’s ZEG storytelling festival in Tbilisi has come to an end, and I am both overloaded with information and exhausted by drinking too much wine. My take-home message was that oligarchy is spreading ever wider, and that we need to take its threat to democracy far more seriously than anyone is doing at the moment. The post The cash hoarders, migrating millionaires, and Monaco mischief appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
There are two options for criminals in a democracy who don’t want to go to jail. The first is to launch a large-scale campaign to legalise whatever crime it is that you want to commit. This is hard, slow, laborious and, in most cases, impossible. The second is to not get caught. This is not The post Creating a culture of corruption appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, popularly known as Haji Isam, a young businessman from South Kalimantan, has become the new poster boy for Indonesia’s oligarchy.| Indonesia at Melbourne
The Corporate Transparency Act was passed by Congress at the very end of Donald Trump’s first term, with bipartisan support and an important mission to protect national security, expose wrongdoing and complicate the committing of financial crime by forcing companies to declare the names of their owners. This was at the time not a controversial The post How Trump is bringing shell companies back onshore appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
I’ve been thinking a lot about the apocalypse in the last few days, and wondering what options oligarchs believe are available to help them escape it. In Mark Lynas’s new book about atomic weapons, he helpfully provides a table showing what percentage of each country’s population would die during or immediately after a nuclear war. The post The oligarch’s guide to sitting out a nuclear winter appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, some 31 percent of “revenue agents” (the people tasked with conducting tax audits) have lost their jobs. This is supposed to save the government money, but it’s a bit like trying to reduce the cost of crime by sacking police officers. “This administration is clearly| Coda Story
Apparently, the word “deadline” was first coined in a notoriously brutal Confederacy-run prison during the American Civil War: any prisoners that crossed the line got killed. The point of a deadline is that, if you don’t stick to it, there are severe consequences. So what do you call a line that, should you cross it, The post How do you solve a problem like the BVI? appeared first on Coda Story.| Coda Story
Leftist politicians have picked up a word I applied to a ruling minority and are applying to the majority. The post “Oligarchy”—Calling the Kettle Black first appeared on Independence Institute. The post “Oligarchy”—Calling the Kettle Black appeared first on Independence Institute.| Independence Institute
Last week I attended a crypto conference in Washington, D.C., and can report back that things are changing fast. New regulations look certain to come through in a hurry and – judging by the heinous quantity of lawyers in the venue – a lot of people are very serious about making a lot of money| Coda Story
For the first time since comparable records began, there are fewer companies on the UK’s corporate registry. It’s a sign that anti-fraud reforms are beginning to show the first signs of a provisional impact. Companies House, as Britain’s corporate registry is known, has historically been dreadful – a “fraud fiesta”, in the words of the| Coda Story
It’s been a big few weeks for crypto. El Salvador, the world’s biggest state-level crypto enthusiast, has apparently reverse ferreted on its agreement with the International Monetary Fund to stop buying bitcoin. Meanwhile Tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin and favourite of the most tech-savvy money launderers, seems to have finally decided to enforce Western sanctions| Coda Story
Abstract National champion policies in BRICS countries pose challenges for governance in global meat processing markets as they increase concentration, reduce competition and enhance corporate power in food systems. We investigate the degree to which these shifts benefit sponsoring governments and citizens relative to intervention levels. By analysing mergers and acquisitions involving these firms, we […] The post Sievert, Howard, San Martim Portes & Yamaoka, ‘‘National champions’ in ...| Capital As Power
January 27, 2025 Dear Friends, We have a billionaire problem. Back in 1995, when I published When Corporations Rule the World, there was an awakening to the dangers of transnational corporations. Right now, in 2025, there is an awakening to the dangers of oligarchy—when a few billionaires rule the world. In his farewell speech, outgoing President Biden left us| David Korten
A sermon on wealth disparity in the U.S., monopolies, and the current American Oligarchy that has finally been revealed.| George Freeman
Seems like in all the chaos after the power transition in the US, this was largely missed: Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency” will have access to all unclassified US government records. It| Songs on the Security of Networks
The parasite class provides us with a better term to describe oligarchs. Through elite theory we can see the lies told about the oligarchy.| Iain Davis
Jeffrey E. Paul’s new book about the authoritarian strain in American academia—including where it came from and what its effects have been, in politics and policy—uses an easily understood, nautical analogy to describe an emerging oligarchy, its financiers, and their role.| the Giving Review
