I THOUGHT Butler to the World was an intriguing title for Oliver Bullough’s book about financial crime and corruption. I imagined this much-anticipated book would delve straight into the hard stuff: hundreds of billions of pounds laundered annually in the UK; the harbouring and itemising of the ill-gotten gains of kleptocrats and oligarchs; and, of course, describing in detail how Scottish limited partnerships (SLPs) were at the heart of much international corruption. But it did so much more.

The opening chapters are a beautifully written tale of how the UK, from the dying days of empire, imperceptibly re-invented itself through time to become the ever so polite and sophisticated butler to some of the most evil men in the world.

The book is so well written, telling a shocking tale in an engaging and can’t-put-it-down manner. If you are interested in what the UK has become, in why corruption and financial crime should be much nearer the top of our political agendas, this is a must-read book. It will at the same time be an uncomfortable read for some. Our professions and institutions, as well as our politics, are taken to task. And it is perhaps the effect of being collaborators that is often the most telling feature.

The book also has a very human story to tell. Here, Bullough explains why we should care about the obscure world of money laundering: “Hundreds of billions of pounds are laundered through the British banking system every year. That is money stolen from people who desperately need it, which was intended to pay the wages of nurses and teachers, or to build roads or power lines, but instead has ended up in the offshore bank accounts of dishonest politicians or crooked businessmen, thanks to the discretion and skills of Butler Britain.”

This hasn’t just happened by chance. The UK has become the best in the world at hosting and caring for the interests of the kleptocrats and oligarchs, thanks to the efforts of politicians and the financial elite who wished it so. It is all supported by some in the legal professions who are uninterested in criminality and justice when fat fees are on offer; by large accountancy firms who can help international crime find every loophole going; and by banks, which are at the heart of laundering the wealth of the international criminal elite.

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For me, of the 10 chapters in the book the most shocking is chapter six, entitled The Scottish Laundromat. Here is the definitive tale of how little-known Scottish limited partnerships became the vehicle of choice for those wanting to hide and move criminal assets across the globe.

But more than that, it reveals the extent to which the UK Government, the Scottish legal establishment and others blocked those seeking to reform the system. Bullough explains: “One journalist looking into SLPs told me that he had been invited to a meeting with a prominent law firm, and told that if he went ahead with his article the firm would never advertise in his newspaper again.” They didn’t want people to be told about the international criminality involved because as they put it: “There is a concern because investors will be sensitive to adverse publicity.”

There are innumerable examples of SLPs being at the heart of international crime. The book rightly gives credit to the important and pioneering work of the journalist David Leask and researcher extraordinaire Richard Smith. For years they have been using their voices to speak about SLPs and other vehicles of abuse.

It has at times been a lonely journey for them, but perhaps we are at a stage where their warnings may be more relevant than ever. If for no other reason, reading their work would be an appropriate way to recognise their efforts on our behalf.

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The role that Roger Mullin, then the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, played in his many efforts to get reform was very sympathetically dealt with throughout the chapter. I couldn’t help but reflect, however, that he shouldn’t have been left alone. He could have been better supported, but that tells its own story. Despite him being a friend and former MP colleague, even I learned much about his efforts from this book.

The significance of SLPs, economic crime and corruption has never been given the priority it deserves. However, perhaps the onset of the desperate war in Ukraine and concerns about how to ensure effective economic sanctions on Russia have given the insights from this book even greater relevance. I do hope so.

Thank you Oliver.

Butler to the World: How Britain became the servants of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals is published by Profile Books and released March 2022