A review by stevenk
Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite by Jake Bernstein

4.0

This book takes a look at the Panama Papers both the journalism that uncovered the Panama Papers as well as the information contained in them. Secret offshore accounts and companies to obscure the ownership and beneficiaries of these assets are used for anonymity as well as tax evasion, money laundering, and other illegal activities. From the looting of state industries after the fall of the USSR to the collapse of the Icelandic economic system to business deals involving criminal funds the secrecy world has allowed much unsavory and illegal activity to escape scrutiny. Also interesting was the story of the organizations and individuals that worked to expose the secrecy world and the challenge of publishing in an impactful way in the age of the 24 hour news cycle. Disappointing was the amount of looking the other way done at all levels of government and business as well as the jaw dropping amount of either ignorance or dishonesty of Donald Trump exposed in this book. I received a free ARC of this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaways.