this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2023
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The UK? What else is corrupt there? Not very knowledgeable about it.
The UK Government has stopped court cases investigating corruption, as was the case with a particular Saudi arms deal. There's the never ending corruption around members of the royal family selling influence (and property at inflated prices) to foreign elements, particularly from the Arabian Gulf but also former Soviet states.
There's the fact London has been the money laundering capital of the world for much of my life, this money has been used to influence politicians to turn a blind eye or even advocate for blatantly corrupt and abusive regimes.
Tony Blair, a former head of government, is the best example of such. He has spent (at least) the past decade "advising" criminal regimes around the globe on how to massage their images.
The UK is a pretty murky place to anyone who bothers to pay attention. The rule of law that they have established is for the sake of financial stability, to keep the charade going. It certainly isn't for the benefit of the common man.
Had absolutely no idea about this. This is fascinating.
Suggested reading:
Butler to the World: The Book the Oligarchs Don't Want You to Read - How Britain Helps the World's Worst People Launder Money, Commit Crimes, and Get Away With Anything - Oliver Bullough
Money Land - Oliver Bullough
The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It - Owen Jones
Kleptopia - Tom Burgis
Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens - Nicholas Saxson
Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption - Patrick Alley
I very much appreciate the recommendations but also I literally bust out laughing at that first title. They couldn't make it just a bit longer? Even funnier juxtaposed with the other title by the same author lol
If I didn't Google these and know they existed I would have thought this was just straight up classic British humor.
Petty corruption is pretty decently under control (you can't bribe a police officer if they pull you over), but institutional corruption, politicians amd their buddies, that had a field day with COVID measures and is very much alive and kicking.
See this example of "legal" affairs that stink of corruption. A lot of land was force-bought to make way for a new high-speed line to be laid. Huge overruns later, the line has been chopped short, it will no longer run across certain tracts of land. So a tonne of land that was appropriated from citizens is now going to be sold off. I feel sure the price on those sales will be below market value and it will be sold to their buddies.
Or Nick Clegg, the former deputy Prime Minister who, when he left government, went into a veeery cushy job at Meta.
Wild man. I had no idea. As an outside person with casual interest, I don't come across this kind of info much. I appreciate it.