Butler to the World by Oliver Bullough: ‘highly readable but thoroughly depressing’
Timely analysis of how Britain has helped to launder others’ fortunes
“Could a book ever be more timely,” asked Simon Nixon in The Times. Oliver Bullough’s Butler to the World is a “highly readable but thoroughly depressing” analysis of Britain’s role in enabling a “shadowy global super-rich” to “launder and hide their vast fortunes”.
The book advances the “surely unarguable” thesis that a large swathe of the country’s elite has “turned itself into a dark version of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves”, catering to the whims of the world’s kleptocrats.
We’ve welcomed corrupt capital in all sorts of ways, said The Economist. Bankers and accountants help shady billionaires stash their wealth in offshore accounts. Reputations are laundered by our “reassuringly expensive” PR firms, while Britain’s claimant-friendly libel and privacy laws help bat away awkward questions. Bullough’s study is urgent and well-informed – and makes a mockery of Boris Johnson’s claim that no country “could conceivably be doing more to root out corrupt Russian money”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to Bullough, this all dates back to the Suez crisis of 1956, said Dominic Sandbrook in The Sunday Times. By laying bare “Britain’s diminished post-imperial status”, the crisis, he suggests, motivated the City to reinvent itself as an “amoral servant” of global wealth. While I am sceptical of this claim – the link with empire doesn’t seem quite clear – what follows is a “grimly fascinating” tour of the various legal and financial loopholes that have allowed Britain to prostrate itself “at the feet of the shady super-rich”.
One chapter explains how the tiny British Virgin Islands became a haven for off-shore money. Another explores the “murky world of Scottish limited partnerships” – an obscure financial vehicle that European criminals have exploited to hide stolen money “on an industrial scale”.
Especially revealing, given the current situation, is the chapter on the Ukrainian-born billionaire Dmitry Firtash, said Will Dunn in the New Statesman. Firtash, Bullough writes, was the “Kremlin’s man in Ukraine” during the premiership of Viktor Yanukovych.
In 2007, he “moved to Kensington” and was welcomed into the heart of the British establishment: he was “honoured by Cambridge University, introduced to the Duke of Edinburgh and invited to open trading on the London Stock Exchange”. He later bought a disused Underground station and was asked to advise the Foreign Office. His story, like many others in this fascinating book, reveals Britain’s shameful role in oiling the “wheels of Vladimir Putin’s gangster state”.
Profile 288pp £20; The Week Bookshop £15.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 3, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour – an 'expansive' exhibition
The Week Recommends The 'sweeping' show features over 140 works from paintings to ceramics
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale picks her favourite true crime books
The Week Recommends The writer shares works by Janet Malcolm, Helen Garner and Mark O'Connell
By The Week UK Published
-
The Forsyte Saga: 'faultless' production with a 'pitch-perfect' cast
The Week Recommends Theatrical adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels is a 'must-see' show
By The Week Published
-
6 exciting homes for athletes
Feature Featuring a rock-climbing wall in New York and a basketball-tennis court in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Wild Robot: animated adventure is 'warm, funny and wise'
The Week Recommends 'Sharply written and richly detailed' adaptation of Peter Brown's best-selling book
By The Week UK Published
-
Francis Bacon: Human Presence – a 'stirring, splendid' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Riveting' show at the National Portrait Gallery explores the artist's 'wild' portraits
By The Week UK Published
-
Robert McCrum shares his favourite books on sport
The Week Recommends Writer and editor picks works by Nick Hornby, David Goldblatt and others
By The Week UK Published