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Very Bad People
- The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
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Very Bad People
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Summary
'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue
'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding
'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop
'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond
'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men, some on the fringes of our society, some embedded high up within it. It's a great story and an important one.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager
'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists who go from eating cold baked beans in a drafty London flat to the Thai-Cambodian border where they posed as traders in illegally felled timber is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia
'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times
'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency International
Arms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them.
VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.
As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.
Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.
What listeners say about Very Bad People
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David
- 03-05-22
Wow
What a great story. An eye opening look in to worldwide corruption. The audio book is perfect, interesting and delivered so well. So impressed I bought the book as well.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Maria Hjukström
- 10-09-23
Enraging and engaging
Well written and engaging account of the battle against corruption the world over. Leaves you enraged by all the “very bad people” out there, but hopefully also leaves you wanting to take action against it all. 10/10 would recommend.
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- K Farragher
- 29-08-22
Inspiring
At least someone is getting results against the tide of corruption. Interesting to see how the review of our current government would be?
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Megan
- 21-12-22
Interesting and disturbing stories, but some questionable economics
Upsetting stories about environmental degradation, corruption and murder of activists. And bravery and resourcefulness of Global Witness workers. A really good listen, well narrated by the reader.
I worry what is written in the epilogue though. It seems that the author sees Capitalism itself as his enemy. And he seems to think that Capitalism implies exploitation of every last ounce of Earth’s resources and that continued economic growth implies complete eventual depletion of Earth’s resources. I believe this shows ignorance of economics. And I note that communist and socialist countries have been some of the worst polluters and most corrupt societies. I hope readers will see that just because the author has moral power on his side, it does not mean he is correct about the role of Capitalism in the degradation of our natural environment and in corruption.
I also worry that GW seems to have strayed into the problems of social media in its work. This suggests to me that they may have lost their way.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Asta Rootsi
- 13-01-23
Inspiring
Corruption is indeed at the heart of so many contemporary issues and it is inspiring that some organisations manage to achieve so much in changing this dark and murky world.
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- Iwona
- 28-12-22
Scary
The narrative is adequate to the seriousness of the subject and I enjoyed listening to it
I was aware of the blood diamonds trade and other shady deals but I didn’t know it was up to Global Witness to reveal all these associations up to the surface
Highly recommend
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- Rupert Naylor
- 23-01-24
A Page Turner
Divided into a series of chapters describing investigations while progressing on a timeline as Global Witness develops as an organisation, this makes for a fascinating read/ listen. Good narration and a good story - recommended
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- Steve W
- 16-01-24
Inspiring
A remarkable story of what a few individuals can achieve. As with most people who succeed they had a clear goal which they knew/believed to be worthy; namely to prevent natural resources being exploited to fund armed conflicts and to expose abuse of power and corruption.
It was fascinating to see how an idea formed over a few drinks in a pub became a global cause for good. I appreciated the amount of detail given by the author on planning, meetings and undercover operations.
The crimes of the people investigated could be made so much more difficult by, for example, passing laws that restrict companies' rights (especially political donations), require companies to act in the interests of the environment where they operate and to provide representation for employees and residents affected by their operations, restrict complex corporate structures, compel disclosure of large payments, stop bank secrecy and prevent access to off-shore tax havens. It is shameful that governments in a position to begin this process fail to do so.
I was previously a lawyer in an international firm and all of us intelligent, reasonable and, by and large, otherwise decent people would put aside personal values when dealing with commercial clients who were paying our large fees. The current systems make it too easy for us to look away while feathering our own nests.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 23-03-24
Powerful gripping stories!
Interesting and inspiring to hear what fine people in a pub can achieve! Kudos to pubs and courageous people who stick their heads up!
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- Chris N.
- 30-10-22
Listen to this!
Readable because of it's intrigue/adventure/detective story nature but also informative. Gives an insight into the dark world we live in; But also inspired with hope.
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2 people found this helpful