American Kleptocracy

For years, one country has acted as the world’s largest offshore haven, hosting hundreds of billions of dollars in illicit finance tied directly to corrupt regimes, extremist networks, and the world’s worst. But it’s not a sandy Caribbean island, nor is it even a traditional haven of financial secrecy like Switzerland or Panama. Instead, the country that still claims to be the moral leader of the free world and the leader in the fight against thieves and corrupt individuals—the United States—has emerged as the biggest beneficiary.

“Kleptocracy, American Style” explores the transformation of the United States into the world’s center for offshore banking. How states like Delaware and Nevada have honed the art of anonymous shell companies, and how the achievements of reformers after 9/11 have led to a new flow of illicit finance directly into the United States. How African despots and post-Soviet oligarchs came to dominate the American coast, industry, and entire cities and towns of the Midwest. How dirty money began to infiltrate American universities, think tanks, and cultural centers. And how anti-corruption activists are trying to restore US leadership in this area and finally put an end to the reign of kleptocracy, American-style.