Moneyland

“Moneyland”

When Ukrainian rebels overthrew their government in 2014, they discovered that their ex-president Viktor Yanukovich had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars. They found financial records documenting every transaction floating in the Dnieper River below the presidential palace. The money trail involved so many intermediaries across numerous nations that it proved impossible to unravel.

Yanukovich’s greed and the ways he masked his theft are standard operating procedures for kleptocrats and oligarchs. They steal and conceal more than a trillion dollars of their people’s money annually. International finance rules and loopholes allow thieves to hide their gains offshore and indulge in opulence. Whether they desire houses, art, yachts or jewelry, a network of banks and operators help them get what they want while masking ownership behind a web of international companies and trusts. This activity destroys countries, like Libya and Afghanistan, where systemic corruption enables terrorism. Corruption has eroded Ukraine’s ability to govern and its will to defend itself.