The Dark Economy: How Dirty Money Shapes the World
Together with investigative journalists Oliver Bullough and Thomas Bollen we dive into the shadow world money laundering. A world of shell companies, tax havens, crypto and empty high-end apartments.
Through shell companies, millions and millions of euros in stolen money are laundered every day. The money is used to buy real estate in New York and London, yachts, or even entire football teams. Over the past few decades, an international system has been built to move money around, leaving national tax authorities powerless to do anything.
Together with investigative journalists Oliver Bullough, author of Everybody Loves Our Dollars, and Thomas Bollen we dive into the shadow world of shell companies, tax havens, crypto and empty high-end apartments. Money laundering has evolved into a global system in which criminals, financial institutions and governments find themselves surprisingly close to one another. How is it possible that, after decades of anti-money-laundering legislation, we still seem unable to get a grip on the system? What role do our governments, banks and the financial sector play? And can we break out of this cycle?
More about the speakersOliver Bullough is a investigative journalist and author from Wales. He is published in the Guardian, and The New York Times. He published Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World in 2018. In 2026 he published Everbody Loves Our Dollars.
Thomas Bollen is a Dutch financial economist specializing in monetary affairs. He writes as a freelance investigative journalist about the economy, the monetary system, banks, and cryptocurrencies. In 2025, he published Geld genoeg, maar niet voor jou (Plenty of Money, But Not for You).
