Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corrupti

A powerful and sophisticated analysis of how Western professionals have enabled kleptocratic elite networks and undermined the rule of law.

After the Cold War ended, the British government created the conditions under which a large, multinational class of extremely wealthy kleptocrats based primarily in Russia and Eurasia could move to and thrive in London with a genuine sense of impunity. What is the role of professional enablers in the rise of kleptocracy?

In Indulging Kleptocracy, John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec, and Tom Mayne examine the broad range of financial, legal, and related services provided in the UK with respect to suspicious wealth from Russian and Eurasian elites. Through a series of rich, gripping case studies, the authors show how powerful legal and financial service industries that know how to game the system have made it possible for these corrupt elites to operate with relative impunity. They detail how these enablers exploit deregulation and the under-enforcement of the law, offshore their clients' wealth, and enhance their reputations and influence via philanthropy, political donations and the use of the UK's punitive libel regime. They further argue that kleptocracy is not just a moral and economic problem that sits at the margins of real politics, but it impoverishes the global south and undermines institutions in the global north, eroding faith in democracy by empowering corrupt elite business-political networks in global politics.

Shedding light on dangerous patterns of corruption, Indulging Kleptocracy explores one of the most fascinating stories in the post-Cold War era and offers suggestions on how to break the system of indulgences and stymie the globalization of kleptocracy.