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Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won
From the bestselling author of MONEYLAND and BUTLER TO THE WORLD, a revelatory new anatomy of global money laundering, the crime that makes crime pay
Without money laundering, few crimes of acquisition would be worth the trouble. South America's drug cartels would be stuffed without it, as would Nigerian kleptocrats, Afghan terrorists, American tax evaders and a whole bestiary of human (and animal) traffickers the world over.
And yet, estimates of the dirty portion of world GDP have held steady at 2%-5% for decades. All efforts at legislation, diplomacy, prosecution and compliance have been a complete flop. It's not a lack of will to stamp it out. It's a lack of insight. So join bestselling investigative journalist Oliver Bullough on a perspective-altering adventure through the flipside of the global economy.
In the criminal world, cash is still king (in fact, crime might now be the main thing cash is good for, and even why it still exists). Barter is pretty good vast, continent-wide exchanges of everything from luxury handbags to baby eels support a triangular drug trade linking Europe to the Far East. Cryptocurrencies flow through paper ledgers that would make a Florentine merchant feel at home.
And the system works. Whether you're a fraudster, a cartel boss, a corrupt politician, a kleptocrat or a terrorist mastermind, your options to move and hide your money are more secure and more impenetrable than they have ever been. There has never been a better time to be a criminal. It's time that changed.
Without money laundering, few crimes of acquisition would be worth the trouble. South America's drug cartels would be stuffed without it, as would Nigerian kleptocrats, Afghan terrorists, American tax evaders and a whole bestiary of human (and animal) traffickers the world over.
And yet, estimates of the dirty portion of world GDP have held steady at 2%-5% for decades. All efforts at legislation, diplomacy, prosecution and compliance have been a complete flop. It's not a lack of will to stamp it out. It's a lack of insight. So join bestselling investigative journalist Oliver Bullough on a perspective-altering adventure through the flipside of the global economy.
In the criminal world, cash is still king (in fact, crime might now be the main thing cash is good for, and even why it still exists). Barter is pretty good vast, continent-wide exchanges of everything from luxury handbags to baby eels support a triangular drug trade linking Europe to the Far East. Cryptocurrencies flow through paper ledgers that would make a Florentine merchant feel at home.
And the system works. Whether you're a fraudster, a cartel boss, a corrupt politician, a kleptocrat or a terrorist mastermind, your options to move and hide your money are more secure and more impenetrable than they have ever been. There has never been a better time to be a criminal. It's time that changed.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 29, 2026
About the author
Oliver Bullough
14 books401 followersI moved to Russia in 1999, after growing up in mid-Wales and studying at Oxford University. I had no particular plan, beyond a desire to learn Russian, but got a job at a local magazine and realised I liked finding things out and writing about them.
The next year I moved to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, then joined Reuters news agency, which sent me to Moscow. The first major story I reported on was the Moscow theatre siege of 2002, when a group of Chechens seized a theatre in the capital.
It both horrified and fascinated me, and I resolved to find out as much as I could about Chechnya and the North Caucasus, to try to understand the roots of the conflict that had burst so unexpectedly into my life. I travelled extensively in the mountains that form Russia’s southern border, falling in love with the scenery, the food and above all the warm and welcoming people.
When I left Russia in 2006, I was exhausted by it, however. I had seen too much misery and never wanted to write about Chechnya again. But I had promised to give a talk to a society in London. After the talk, I was asked if I would ever write a book about what I had seen. I wrote down a few thoughts, took them to a friend who knew about books, and she introduced me to a publisher.
I travelled in a dozen countries to meet all the people I needed for the stories I wanted to tell, and wrote them down in Let Our Fame Be Great. Penguin published it in the UK in 2010. It won the Oxfam Emerging Writer Prize and was short-listed for the Orwell Prize, with prize judge James Naughtie calling it “an extraordinary book... a wonderful part-travelogue, part-history”. Basic Books published it in the United States, where the Overseas Press Club awarded it the Cornelius Ryan Award for “best nonfiction book on international affairs”.
After it came out, though, a number of Russian friends objected that I had made the Russians into the villains. I don’t think I did, but their complaints chewed away at me a little. Perhaps some readers had been left feeling all Russians were complicit in the crimes of their leaders. The Russians after all suffered as much as anyone at the hands of the government in Moscow.
That provoked me into writing my second book, The Last Man in Russia, which describes the struggle of a Russian to live in freedom and the efforts of Soviet officials to stop him. The life story of Father Dmitry, the Orthodox priest I chose as my central figure, seems to me to mirror the life of his whole nation, which is beset by depression and alcoholism.
Travelling to meet the people I wanted to talk to and to see the places I wanted to describe took me to the far north of Russia, to rotting gulag towns; to the west of Russia, to half-abandoned villages; and to the Ural Mountains, where the communists locked up their doughtiest opponents; and to Moscow itself, that great fat spider in the centre of its web.
I would like to write more books one day but, at the moment, I’m concentrating on my day job as Caucasus Editor for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting. I also write freelance articles and worry about the Welsh rugby team.
http://www.oliverbullough.com/biograp...
The next year I moved to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, then joined Reuters news agency, which sent me to Moscow. The first major story I reported on was the Moscow theatre siege of 2002, when a group of Chechens seized a theatre in the capital.
It both horrified and fascinated me, and I resolved to find out as much as I could about Chechnya and the North Caucasus, to try to understand the roots of the conflict that had burst so unexpectedly into my life. I travelled extensively in the mountains that form Russia’s southern border, falling in love with the scenery, the food and above all the warm and welcoming people.
When I left Russia in 2006, I was exhausted by it, however. I had seen too much misery and never wanted to write about Chechnya again. But I had promised to give a talk to a society in London. After the talk, I was asked if I would ever write a book about what I had seen. I wrote down a few thoughts, took them to a friend who knew about books, and she introduced me to a publisher.
I travelled in a dozen countries to meet all the people I needed for the stories I wanted to tell, and wrote them down in Let Our Fame Be Great. Penguin published it in the UK in 2010. It won the Oxfam Emerging Writer Prize and was short-listed for the Orwell Prize, with prize judge James Naughtie calling it “an extraordinary book... a wonderful part-travelogue, part-history”. Basic Books published it in the United States, where the Overseas Press Club awarded it the Cornelius Ryan Award for “best nonfiction book on international affairs”.
After it came out, though, a number of Russian friends objected that I had made the Russians into the villains. I don’t think I did, but their complaints chewed away at me a little. Perhaps some readers had been left feeling all Russians were complicit in the crimes of their leaders. The Russians after all suffered as much as anyone at the hands of the government in Moscow.
That provoked me into writing my second book, The Last Man in Russia, which describes the struggle of a Russian to live in freedom and the efforts of Soviet officials to stop him. The life story of Father Dmitry, the Orthodox priest I chose as my central figure, seems to me to mirror the life of his whole nation, which is beset by depression and alcoholism.
Travelling to meet the people I wanted to talk to and to see the places I wanted to describe took me to the far north of Russia, to rotting gulag towns; to the west of Russia, to half-abandoned villages; and to the Ural Mountains, where the communists locked up their doughtiest opponents; and to Moscow itself, that great fat spider in the centre of its web.
I would like to write more books one day but, at the moment, I’m concentrating on my day job as Caucasus Editor for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting. I also write freelance articles and worry about the Welsh rugby team.
http://www.oliverbullough.com/biograp...
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 15, 2026
A mind boggling exploration of the world of Money Laundering. I knew it was a large part of the world economy, but didn't know just how insanely prevalent it is before reading this. You shake your head in amazement at some of the facts revealed.
For instance, I've often wondered who buys all those Swiss Watches priced at $50,000 or more. Well, Bullough reveals that 80% of the Swiss Watch trade is related to money laundering. You'd worry about getting through airport security with $50k in your hand luggage. But nobody would pay any mind to a watch on your wrist.
Then there is the fact that of all the paper money dollars in circulation, around 80% are in the form of 100 dollar bills. Ordinary people never use these, but they are invaluable for criminals and tax evaders.
You sometimes find yourself grinning at the ingenuity of the criminals until you remember that these techniques facilitate some of the worst crimes in the world.
As well as explaining the problem in all its gruesome reality, Bullough gives some practical suggestions for dealing with it.
For instance, I've often wondered who buys all those Swiss Watches priced at $50,000 or more. Well, Bullough reveals that 80% of the Swiss Watch trade is related to money laundering. You'd worry about getting through airport security with $50k in your hand luggage. But nobody would pay any mind to a watch on your wrist.
Then there is the fact that of all the paper money dollars in circulation, around 80% are in the form of 100 dollar bills. Ordinary people never use these, but they are invaluable for criminals and tax evaders.
You sometimes find yourself grinning at the ingenuity of the criminals until you remember that these techniques facilitate some of the worst crimes in the world.
As well as explaining the problem in all its gruesome reality, Bullough gives some practical suggestions for dealing with it.
July 9, 2026
SPOILER ALERT!...The rich, greedy criminals win again...
“Mellon and 7,000 other wealthy Americans had been compensated for losses that war caused to their companies, even though they had profited from government contracts, while the ordinary people who had fought for their country had won no extra compensation at all.”
It was situations like this which inspired and drove on US politician, Wright Patman, to actually try and make some meaningful changes to the broken, venal system in America during the 20th Century. And for all his flaws, and there were many, he did a great job of it too, his years of effort and schmoozing managed to curtail some of the greed and corruption, whilst giving something back to the everyday working man and woman.
“The system built to ensure there would never be a second 9/11 would not even have stopped the first 9/11, but will instead entrench discrimination in the financial system.”
Bullough does a good enough job of trying to investigate, uncover and most importantly of all translate a deeply embedded, global culture of indentured criminality which hides in plain sight. He goes jetting across the world talking to many of those involved in both sides, exploring debanking, smurfing and carousel fraud as well as many other acts, ploys and plays.
“The Federal Reserve makes $99.91 every time it sends a $100 bill out of the door.”
We see that America’s idea of financial regulation seems very similar to its idea of foreign policy - clumsy, ignorant, biased and totally out of touch with reality and clearly unfit for purpose. It’s a system which not only does a lot of damage to completely innocent people, but it also continues to enable, promote and protect wide-scale, high end criminality.
“The best places to get anonymous shell companies have long been US states like Delaware and Nevada. London was then and is now the world’s biggest offshore banking centre.”
“According to the UN, providing safe water and sanitation to everyone everywhere would cost around $116 billion a year, while feeding everyone who lacks food would be around $40 billion. So if we took the money spent on the world’s compliance programmes, we could end thirst and hunger, with $50 billion left over.”
Those in power continue to pursue that classic tried and tested policy of making a show of being seen to overly punish the weak, vulnerable and defenceless to make examples of to create the misleading impression that they are being just as consistent and ruthless with the rich and powerful, who are actually doing the real damage.
“Poor, innocent people get kicked out; rich, guilty people do not.”
The best example of this being in the now, well-known case of the Saudi billionaires who bankrolled the 9/11 terrorists, and The White House blocked any investigation let alone prosecution of them as they were close friends to the President’s family.
“Terrorism is grotesque. But you don’t fight terrorism by ostracizing blameless people, or by alienating whole classes of the population. That is quite obviously going to be counterproductive.”
I learned a lot from this and I quite enjoyed Bullough’s relaxed style and approach, which often reminded me very much of Johan Hari at his best. He does a decent job of translating some complicated and sophisticated scams and systems.
As long as the rest of the world has to endure the current levels of political cowardice, corporate greed and widespread xenophobia and racism, this has no hope of ever changing and there are many reasons why those in power will fight to keep that status quo. Not least because so many of them profit from it on such a dizzying scale.
“Mellon and 7,000 other wealthy Americans had been compensated for losses that war caused to their companies, even though they had profited from government contracts, while the ordinary people who had fought for their country had won no extra compensation at all.”
It was situations like this which inspired and drove on US politician, Wright Patman, to actually try and make some meaningful changes to the broken, venal system in America during the 20th Century. And for all his flaws, and there were many, he did a great job of it too, his years of effort and schmoozing managed to curtail some of the greed and corruption, whilst giving something back to the everyday working man and woman.
“The system built to ensure there would never be a second 9/11 would not even have stopped the first 9/11, but will instead entrench discrimination in the financial system.”
Bullough does a good enough job of trying to investigate, uncover and most importantly of all translate a deeply embedded, global culture of indentured criminality which hides in plain sight. He goes jetting across the world talking to many of those involved in both sides, exploring debanking, smurfing and carousel fraud as well as many other acts, ploys and plays.
“The Federal Reserve makes $99.91 every time it sends a $100 bill out of the door.”
We see that America’s idea of financial regulation seems very similar to its idea of foreign policy - clumsy, ignorant, biased and totally out of touch with reality and clearly unfit for purpose. It’s a system which not only does a lot of damage to completely innocent people, but it also continues to enable, promote and protect wide-scale, high end criminality.
“The best places to get anonymous shell companies have long been US states like Delaware and Nevada. London was then and is now the world’s biggest offshore banking centre.”
“According to the UN, providing safe water and sanitation to everyone everywhere would cost around $116 billion a year, while feeding everyone who lacks food would be around $40 billion. So if we took the money spent on the world’s compliance programmes, we could end thirst and hunger, with $50 billion left over.”
Those in power continue to pursue that classic tried and tested policy of making a show of being seen to overly punish the weak, vulnerable and defenceless to make examples of to create the misleading impression that they are being just as consistent and ruthless with the rich and powerful, who are actually doing the real damage.
“Poor, innocent people get kicked out; rich, guilty people do not.”
The best example of this being in the now, well-known case of the Saudi billionaires who bankrolled the 9/11 terrorists, and The White House blocked any investigation let alone prosecution of them as they were close friends to the President’s family.
“Terrorism is grotesque. But you don’t fight terrorism by ostracizing blameless people, or by alienating whole classes of the population. That is quite obviously going to be counterproductive.”
I learned a lot from this and I quite enjoyed Bullough’s relaxed style and approach, which often reminded me very much of Johan Hari at his best. He does a decent job of translating some complicated and sophisticated scams and systems.
As long as the rest of the world has to endure the current levels of political cowardice, corporate greed and widespread xenophobia and racism, this has no hope of ever changing and there are many reasons why those in power will fight to keep that status quo. Not least because so many of them profit from it on such a dizzying scale.
March 16, 2026
This should be at the top of everyone’s non-fiction reading list. It’s eye-opening and deeply informative about how our financial systems have enabled money laundering to worsen, while also offering practical solutions that governments should seriously consider.
July 9, 2026
No doubt money laundering is bad and it is excellent someone writes about it.
But is this a good book?? I am not convinced.
1) it tells so many stories and adventures which are not related to money laundering. The taxi trip across the Marshall Islands, does it matter for money laundering?
2) it rarely explains it “in detail” - how does black money actually become white money
3) it blurs the boundary between general financial crime & fraud - which is equally shocking and needs to be addressed - and money laundering.
And the conclusions … I often think there are analyses for the beauty of the analysis and the conclusions are relatively brief and straightforward.
The cynic in me thinks it is written this way to make a more representative addition to the banking executive’s behind desk book shelf, getting a bit thicker by adding narrative and adventures.
Nonetheless I admire the author for his breadth of experience, and life’s work. Just Im not so impressed with the book as such.
But is this a good book?? I am not convinced.
1) it tells so many stories and adventures which are not related to money laundering. The taxi trip across the Marshall Islands, does it matter for money laundering?
2) it rarely explains it “in detail” - how does black money actually become white money
3) it blurs the boundary between general financial crime & fraud - which is equally shocking and needs to be addressed - and money laundering.
And the conclusions … I often think there are analyses for the beauty of the analysis and the conclusions are relatively brief and straightforward.
The cynic in me thinks it is written this way to make a more representative addition to the banking executive’s behind desk book shelf, getting a bit thicker by adding narrative and adventures.
Nonetheless I admire the author for his breadth of experience, and life’s work. Just Im not so impressed with the book as such.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2026
Brillianly written. It's easy to immerse yourself in the story, and learn about how ineffective our governments ( or how complicit) are in money laundering.
April 27, 2026
A masterpiece of journalistic excellence. Entertaining, witty, and truly revelatory. Oliver Bullough decomposes money laundering, exposing the sheer scale of the crime.
The author provides an insightful overview of the history of money laundering, which began after WWI and the Great Depression, when heavy restrictions and capital controls prompted people to devise alternative illegal solutions to avoid those restrictions. It started an ever-accelerating race between criminals and legislators trying to fight against ML. Yet, government efforts have delivered dismal results so far, as ML still accounts to 2-5% of global GDP. Modern anti-ML efforts are led by FATF, the Financial Action Task Force, which was created in a hurry first in 1989, then revised after 9/11, but still isn't optimally designed to tackle the crime.
Oliver Bullough explains numerous ways the ML criminals work and accumulate their wealth. Some observations from the chapters I found particularly interesting:
- AI cannot be used for training as there is no sufficient data on money laundering cases;
- ML and financing of terrorism are in fact, opposites. ML's purpose is to clean dirty money, while financing of terrorism uses clean money for criminal purposes;
- Governments print an astonishing number of banknotes with ever increasing denominations. Despite the digitalisation and the growing penetration of digital payments, cash is still the king;
- Cryptocurrencies are an ideal solution for ML. It's more liquid than cash and can be moved outside the financial system and ML regulations. They are above ML regulations and can skip work the banks can’t. The argument that this system benefits the oppressed must also recognise that it benefits criminals. The crypto companies are accountable to no one: "Tether is answerable to no one but the government of El Salvador". Interestingly, Tether invested $116B in Treasury notes (more than Mexico), gaining power comparable to sovereign states;
- Latvia successfully cleaned up its system from dirty Russian money flowing to the EU since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is one of the few successful cases in tackling ML crime, yet it also brought disillusionment because criminal money didn't dissapear, they just moved to other jurisdictions, while some ordinary citizens suffered from tighter regulations and checks. It is comparable to trying to stop people drinking by closing one shop: it won’t make any meaningful difference, as money will go somewhere else;
- MTIC or carousel fraud (VAT taxes crime) is the most profitable crime in the EU. Britain successfully tackled the issue in 2010s;
The author ends the book with a call to action and suggests innovative solutions that seem obvious but surprisingly haven't been implemented yet:
- Stop printing high-denomination banknotes;
- Make the list of the ultimate beneficiary of the shell companies accessible and transparent;
- Reassess drug legalisation rules - the situation is comparable to the Prohibition era in 1920s that stimulated significant criminal activity.
The author provides an insightful overview of the history of money laundering, which began after WWI and the Great Depression, when heavy restrictions and capital controls prompted people to devise alternative illegal solutions to avoid those restrictions. It started an ever-accelerating race between criminals and legislators trying to fight against ML. Yet, government efforts have delivered dismal results so far, as ML still accounts to 2-5% of global GDP. Modern anti-ML efforts are led by FATF, the Financial Action Task Force, which was created in a hurry first in 1989, then revised after 9/11, but still isn't optimally designed to tackle the crime.
Oliver Bullough explains numerous ways the ML criminals work and accumulate their wealth. Some observations from the chapters I found particularly interesting:
- AI cannot be used for training as there is no sufficient data on money laundering cases;
- ML and financing of terrorism are in fact, opposites. ML's purpose is to clean dirty money, while financing of terrorism uses clean money for criminal purposes;
- Governments print an astonishing number of banknotes with ever increasing denominations. Despite the digitalisation and the growing penetration of digital payments, cash is still the king;
- Cryptocurrencies are an ideal solution for ML. It's more liquid than cash and can be moved outside the financial system and ML regulations. They are above ML regulations and can skip work the banks can’t. The argument that this system benefits the oppressed must also recognise that it benefits criminals. The crypto companies are accountable to no one: "Tether is answerable to no one but the government of El Salvador". Interestingly, Tether invested $116B in Treasury notes (more than Mexico), gaining power comparable to sovereign states;
- Latvia successfully cleaned up its system from dirty Russian money flowing to the EU since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is one of the few successful cases in tackling ML crime, yet it also brought disillusionment because criminal money didn't dissapear, they just moved to other jurisdictions, while some ordinary citizens suffered from tighter regulations and checks. It is comparable to trying to stop people drinking by closing one shop: it won’t make any meaningful difference, as money will go somewhere else;
- MTIC or carousel fraud (VAT taxes crime) is the most profitable crime in the EU. Britain successfully tackled the issue in 2010s;
The author ends the book with a call to action and suggests innovative solutions that seem obvious but surprisingly haven't been implemented yet:
- Stop printing high-denomination banknotes;
- Make the list of the ultimate beneficiary of the shell companies accessible and transparent;
- Reassess drug legalisation rules - the situation is comparable to the Prohibition era in 1920s that stimulated significant criminal activity.
July 16, 2026
Very insightful and depressing read
May 7, 2026
A thorough and interesting exploration of money laundering. I loved the use of specific examples on different laundering practices and associated consequences. It helped ground the complexity of the subject and I learnt a bunch of things about people and places I'd never heard of.
It took me a while to read because it is quite dense, but that suits the subject matter and I found consistent motivation to keep reading.
It took me a while to read because it is quite dense, but that suits the subject matter and I found consistent motivation to keep reading.
May 27, 2026
Really easy to read and really opened my eyes to the world around me!
July 16, 2026
Oliver Bullough is a capable guide through the shadows of global finance, and while How Money Laundering Won is packed with valuable reporting, I disagreed with its core thesis.
Bullough’s central idea is that without money laundering, few crimes would be worth the trouble. I think he has it backwards. South American drug cartels, Russian Oligarchs, American tax dodgers, and human traffickers are not lured into their enterprises because laundering money is easy. They commit crimes because of a raw desire for wealth and power. Crime generates illicit cash, which then creates a secondary demand for laundering. Even if the global banking system were airtight, criminals would still operate. In fact, he undermined his own case here by detailing how physical goods moving through complex trade routes are massive, unregulated channels for moving dirty money that represents a massive blind spot for enforcers. Even if we closed loopholes in the banking system, it's likely that money laundering would shift to the trade in physical goods. In my view, effective anti-money laundering is important because it raises the risk and costs of crime, while limiting the rewards of ill-gotten gains. However Bullough goes further, taking an almost utopian view of how much would be solved if we could simply organize to fight money laundering.
This penchant for hyperbole inevitably leads to an internal contradiction. On one hand, he notes that estimates of dirty money in the global economy have remained steady at 2% to 5% of GDP for decades. On the other hand, every single legislative, diplomatic, and compliance effort has been a complete and utter flop. Both cannot be true. Personally, I'd view the 2 to 5% estimate as a finger in the air that "feels" right but likely dramatically underestimates the scale of the problem. Even so, calling all compliance efforts a complete failure is an exaggeration that cheapens the real, if flawed, progress made by prosecutors and regulators to contain dirty money.
Bullough's sharpest, most damning accusation is leveled at the Federal Reserve. In his view, the Fed’s massive printing of 100-dollar bills is a cynical, profit-motivated effort to feed international crime. Around 80% of all US dollars in circulation exist in the form of 100-dollar bills, a denomination that ordinary citizens rarely touch in their daily lives but is absolutely vital for cartels, tax evaders, and traffickers. Bullough pointedly quotes Fed leadership to make it clear he feels this is a case of deliberate, greedy neglect.
I was struck by the absurdities of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC). As Bullough expertly reconstructs the history of money laundering, we see how far this space has evolved, with enforcers often one step behind. But the massive expansion of financial compliance rules since 2001 has outsourced the job of policing financial crime to the private sector, creating a biased system with poor incentives. The system was justified as necessary to prevent another 9/11, yet Bullough makes clear that the rules we got are ineffective against terrorism, and wouldn't have even stopped the first 9/11. The reality is that money laundering and terrorist financing are functional opposites: laundering cleans dirty money, while terrorist financing uses clean money for dirty purposes.
Yet the real tragedy of the system is that instead of catching high-level criminals, the system ends up kicking poor, innocent people out of the banking sector while protecting the rich. A glaring historical example of this double standard is how the White House blocked investigations into the wealthy Saudi elites who bankrolled the 9/11 hijackers. Meanwhile, innocent people who are Muslim or simply speak Arabic or Somali, those who donate to charity, and the actual charities that the global poor depend on are the most deeply affected by "debanking". Even government agencies trying to get aid into Afghanistan and Pakistan have found themselves locked out due to rigid banking regulations.
The book highlights the rank hypocrisy of global financial enforcers who crack down on tiny island nations like the Marshall Islands while turning a blind eye to the world's biggest offshore havens. The best places to get anonymous shell companies have long been US states like Delaware and Nevada. London was then and is now the world’s biggest offshore banking center. The US, UK, and Netherlands lead the world in dirty money, refusing to implement the strict rules that they force on weaker nations. One has to question whether they genuinely want to fight money laundering or just want to enforce their monopoly on the illicit trade.
Bullough questions the value of our current system with a staggering comparison: the money spent on global compliance programs could end world hunger and provide safe water and sanitation to everyone on earth, with billions left over. Instead, we spend all of that on a system that discriminates against the innocent.
Bullough offers much needed skepticism for the tech sector. Artificial intelligence startups claim they will revolutionize the fight against money laundering, Bullough convincingly dismantles their argument. Because money laundering is rarely detected in real life, there is no quality training data to build effective models. Startups are simply training AI to check boxes, and if they are lucky catch clumsy, outdated launderers, while further entrenching a fundamentally biased and flawed approach to enforcement. He also highlights how cryptocurrency and specifically stablecoins will obviously make money laundering and tax evasion easier, how their benefits are far outweighed by the costs and risks, and how the companies leading the space like Tether are deliberately incorporating in jurisdictions that limit their accountability to democratic institutions.
Bullough has an eye for fascinating histories. We see how Latvia leveraged EU membership to become a hub for Russian money laundering, and how a US crackdown didn't stop the flow, instead pushing dirty cash to Lithuania, Dubai, and London, leaving regular Latvian citizens to suffer under crippling, unpopular regulations. For the first time, I saw the sheer scale of carousel VAT fraud and the evolving cat-and-mouse game between UK enforcers and criminals throughout the 2010s, which ends in a story of hope for how enforcers can successfully fight financial crime and fraud. And I appreciated the historical portrait he painted of Wright Patman, a flawed but dogged US congressman who spent his career fighting for genuine financial reform and should be an inspiration for politicians everywhere.
The narrative stumbles when it tackles Chinese money laundering. It is important to highlight how large a role China plays in modern illicit finance, but Bullough relies on broad-brush writing that risks promoting unfair suspicion. For instance, he points to Chinese tourists and students buying luxury handbags in Bicester Village as part of a complex trade-based laundering scheme. While the mechanics of the scheme are intriguing, his framing risks casting a shadow of suspicion over overseas Chinese students in general. In another example, he links the Chinese demand for baby eels to illegal fishing in Mexico, but the passage drifts so far off-topic that it loses its connection to money laundering entirely. I worry that Bullough tries too hard to paint China as a villain to galvanize Western readers, rather than recognizing that the Global South is ultimately the primary victim of tax evasion, crime, and capital flight.
I trust Bullough as an expert on money laundering, but sometimes he overreaches. He shows us how the dirty money moves, but I'm not convinced he knows how to stop it. This book is highly readable, full of valuable insight and necessary skepticism. Not his finest work, but one well worth reading.
Bullough’s central idea is that without money laundering, few crimes would be worth the trouble. I think he has it backwards. South American drug cartels, Russian Oligarchs, American tax dodgers, and human traffickers are not lured into their enterprises because laundering money is easy. They commit crimes because of a raw desire for wealth and power. Crime generates illicit cash, which then creates a secondary demand for laundering. Even if the global banking system were airtight, criminals would still operate. In fact, he undermined his own case here by detailing how physical goods moving through complex trade routes are massive, unregulated channels for moving dirty money that represents a massive blind spot for enforcers. Even if we closed loopholes in the banking system, it's likely that money laundering would shift to the trade in physical goods. In my view, effective anti-money laundering is important because it raises the risk and costs of crime, while limiting the rewards of ill-gotten gains. However Bullough goes further, taking an almost utopian view of how much would be solved if we could simply organize to fight money laundering.
This penchant for hyperbole inevitably leads to an internal contradiction. On one hand, he notes that estimates of dirty money in the global economy have remained steady at 2% to 5% of GDP for decades. On the other hand, every single legislative, diplomatic, and compliance effort has been a complete and utter flop. Both cannot be true. Personally, I'd view the 2 to 5% estimate as a finger in the air that "feels" right but likely dramatically underestimates the scale of the problem. Even so, calling all compliance efforts a complete failure is an exaggeration that cheapens the real, if flawed, progress made by prosecutors and regulators to contain dirty money.
Bullough's sharpest, most damning accusation is leveled at the Federal Reserve. In his view, the Fed’s massive printing of 100-dollar bills is a cynical, profit-motivated effort to feed international crime. Around 80% of all US dollars in circulation exist in the form of 100-dollar bills, a denomination that ordinary citizens rarely touch in their daily lives but is absolutely vital for cartels, tax evaders, and traffickers. Bullough pointedly quotes Fed leadership to make it clear he feels this is a case of deliberate, greedy neglect.
I was struck by the absurdities of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC). As Bullough expertly reconstructs the history of money laundering, we see how far this space has evolved, with enforcers often one step behind. But the massive expansion of financial compliance rules since 2001 has outsourced the job of policing financial crime to the private sector, creating a biased system with poor incentives. The system was justified as necessary to prevent another 9/11, yet Bullough makes clear that the rules we got are ineffective against terrorism, and wouldn't have even stopped the first 9/11. The reality is that money laundering and terrorist financing are functional opposites: laundering cleans dirty money, while terrorist financing uses clean money for dirty purposes.
Yet the real tragedy of the system is that instead of catching high-level criminals, the system ends up kicking poor, innocent people out of the banking sector while protecting the rich. A glaring historical example of this double standard is how the White House blocked investigations into the wealthy Saudi elites who bankrolled the 9/11 hijackers. Meanwhile, innocent people who are Muslim or simply speak Arabic or Somali, those who donate to charity, and the actual charities that the global poor depend on are the most deeply affected by "debanking". Even government agencies trying to get aid into Afghanistan and Pakistan have found themselves locked out due to rigid banking regulations.
The book highlights the rank hypocrisy of global financial enforcers who crack down on tiny island nations like the Marshall Islands while turning a blind eye to the world's biggest offshore havens. The best places to get anonymous shell companies have long been US states like Delaware and Nevada. London was then and is now the world’s biggest offshore banking center. The US, UK, and Netherlands lead the world in dirty money, refusing to implement the strict rules that they force on weaker nations. One has to question whether they genuinely want to fight money laundering or just want to enforce their monopoly on the illicit trade.
Bullough questions the value of our current system with a staggering comparison: the money spent on global compliance programs could end world hunger and provide safe water and sanitation to everyone on earth, with billions left over. Instead, we spend all of that on a system that discriminates against the innocent.
Bullough offers much needed skepticism for the tech sector. Artificial intelligence startups claim they will revolutionize the fight against money laundering, Bullough convincingly dismantles their argument. Because money laundering is rarely detected in real life, there is no quality training data to build effective models. Startups are simply training AI to check boxes, and if they are lucky catch clumsy, outdated launderers, while further entrenching a fundamentally biased and flawed approach to enforcement. He also highlights how cryptocurrency and specifically stablecoins will obviously make money laundering and tax evasion easier, how their benefits are far outweighed by the costs and risks, and how the companies leading the space like Tether are deliberately incorporating in jurisdictions that limit their accountability to democratic institutions.
Bullough has an eye for fascinating histories. We see how Latvia leveraged EU membership to become a hub for Russian money laundering, and how a US crackdown didn't stop the flow, instead pushing dirty cash to Lithuania, Dubai, and London, leaving regular Latvian citizens to suffer under crippling, unpopular regulations. For the first time, I saw the sheer scale of carousel VAT fraud and the evolving cat-and-mouse game between UK enforcers and criminals throughout the 2010s, which ends in a story of hope for how enforcers can successfully fight financial crime and fraud. And I appreciated the historical portrait he painted of Wright Patman, a flawed but dogged US congressman who spent his career fighting for genuine financial reform and should be an inspiration for politicians everywhere.
The narrative stumbles when it tackles Chinese money laundering. It is important to highlight how large a role China plays in modern illicit finance, but Bullough relies on broad-brush writing that risks promoting unfair suspicion. For instance, he points to Chinese tourists and students buying luxury handbags in Bicester Village as part of a complex trade-based laundering scheme. While the mechanics of the scheme are intriguing, his framing risks casting a shadow of suspicion over overseas Chinese students in general. In another example, he links the Chinese demand for baby eels to illegal fishing in Mexico, but the passage drifts so far off-topic that it loses its connection to money laundering entirely. I worry that Bullough tries too hard to paint China as a villain to galvanize Western readers, rather than recognizing that the Global South is ultimately the primary victim of tax evasion, crime, and capital flight.
I trust Bullough as an expert on money laundering, but sometimes he overreaches. He shows us how the dirty money moves, but I'm not convinced he knows how to stop it. This book is highly readable, full of valuable insight and necessary skepticism. Not his finest work, but one well worth reading.
June 27, 2026
Book review: Everybody Loves Our Dollars by Oliver Bullough
I would give it an 8/10. The core argument is strong, even if the book is not always as sharp as it could be.
Dirty money enters the economy through bank accounts, lawyers, company structures, property deals, offshore networks, compliance processes and financial centres.
The book is strongest when it connects the money back to real harm. People are trafficked into fraud compounds, forced to scam strangers online, and beaten if they do not work hard enough. The money that comes out of that cruelty then moves through the system until it becomes another transaction, file, fee or client relationship.
We have all heard the phrase “follow the money trail”. Bullough shows how late that approach often starts.
By the time there is a money trail to follow, the worst part has often already happened. Someone has been scammed. Drugs, contraband or stolen money have already entered the economy.
Following the money may help catch people later. It does not stop the harm at the point where it starts.
The more difficult question is what happens before the money looks normal. A bank sees red flags. A lawyer sets up the structure. A broker takes the fee. A property deal closes. A compliance team is buried in alerts. A manager does not want to lose a profitable client.
Not everyone involved is corrupt. Many people are dealing with scale, pressure and complexity. But that cannot explain everything. Some institutions hide behind process. Some treat fines as a business cost. Some profit from money they should never have touched. There is still too much reward in not asking the next question.
I do not think money laundering can be fully stopped. The system is too large, too fast and too profitable. It can be reduced, disrupted, made harder, made more expensive and made riskier for institutions to ignore. But stopped completely? I do not see it.
Bullough’s point on high-denomination notes is that large notes make it easier to store and move value outside the banking system. Removing them may close some routes for dirty money. A more cashless world may close others. But the demand will still be there.
Much of this already happens through normal paperwork: company invoices, consulting fees, property purchases, digital payment trails and normal bank accounts. The future problem is speed and fragmentation: wallets, stablecoins, synthetic identities, platforms and money moving across jurisdictions before anyone has time to properly question it.
More data does not automatically mean more accountability.
The book made one point clear to me: money gets washed because responsibility is easy to pass around. The bank had a process. The lawyer had a client. The broker had a deal. The compliance team had a file. Everyone handled one part of the chain, and the final outcome became someone else’s problem.
Worth reading.
I would give it an 8/10. The core argument is strong, even if the book is not always as sharp as it could be.
Dirty money enters the economy through bank accounts, lawyers, company structures, property deals, offshore networks, compliance processes and financial centres.
The book is strongest when it connects the money back to real harm. People are trafficked into fraud compounds, forced to scam strangers online, and beaten if they do not work hard enough. The money that comes out of that cruelty then moves through the system until it becomes another transaction, file, fee or client relationship.
We have all heard the phrase “follow the money trail”. Bullough shows how late that approach often starts.
By the time there is a money trail to follow, the worst part has often already happened. Someone has been scammed. Drugs, contraband or stolen money have already entered the economy.
Following the money may help catch people later. It does not stop the harm at the point where it starts.
The more difficult question is what happens before the money looks normal. A bank sees red flags. A lawyer sets up the structure. A broker takes the fee. A property deal closes. A compliance team is buried in alerts. A manager does not want to lose a profitable client.
Not everyone involved is corrupt. Many people are dealing with scale, pressure and complexity. But that cannot explain everything. Some institutions hide behind process. Some treat fines as a business cost. Some profit from money they should never have touched. There is still too much reward in not asking the next question.
I do not think money laundering can be fully stopped. The system is too large, too fast and too profitable. It can be reduced, disrupted, made harder, made more expensive and made riskier for institutions to ignore. But stopped completely? I do not see it.
Bullough’s point on high-denomination notes is that large notes make it easier to store and move value outside the banking system. Removing them may close some routes for dirty money. A more cashless world may close others. But the demand will still be there.
Much of this already happens through normal paperwork: company invoices, consulting fees, property purchases, digital payment trails and normal bank accounts. The future problem is speed and fragmentation: wallets, stablecoins, synthetic identities, platforms and money moving across jurisdictions before anyone has time to properly question it.
More data does not automatically mean more accountability.
The book made one point clear to me: money gets washed because responsibility is easy to pass around. The bank had a process. The lawyer had a client. The broker had a deal. The compliance team had a file. Everyone handled one part of the chain, and the final outcome became someone else’s problem.
Worth reading.
March 12, 2026
Stop the Presses
If only we stopped printing $100 bills, the world of money laundering would be hard hit, according to Oliver Bullough's latest firecracker financial scandal expose. Once again, Bullough lifts the curtain on financial crime, this time the wild world of money laundering, in all its guises. It starts slow, with the origin story about how it was first noticed by an obscure Texas politician and has blown up to a trillion $ + racket.
Once he gets going, Bullough rolls out his impressive analysis, guided by leading experts in banking, compliance and law enforcement. His charming style is the silk glove for his mailed fist. You will be informed and entertained.
If only we stopped printing $100 bills, the world of money laundering would be hard hit, according to Oliver Bullough's latest firecracker financial scandal expose. Once again, Bullough lifts the curtain on financial crime, this time the wild world of money laundering, in all its guises. It starts slow, with the origin story about how it was first noticed by an obscure Texas politician and has blown up to a trillion $ + racket.
Once he gets going, Bullough rolls out his impressive analysis, guided by leading experts in banking, compliance and law enforcement. His charming style is the silk glove for his mailed fist. You will be informed and entertained.
March 24, 2026
A balanced perspective on the current state of money laundering that takes a surprisingly pragmatic and sympathetic view of the role of banks. Essentially, it deconstructs the broken incentive structure that leads to millions of SARs being issued and rarely acted on.
The detail on how money laundering thrives outside the financial system (especially trade-based money laundering, and the Bicester Village example) is genuinely fascinating. It touches on crypto too, although not to the extent of some more crypto-focused books.
3 stars because it remains relatively technical and of niche interest (sadly). But worth a read if you are interested in the area.
The detail on how money laundering thrives outside the financial system (especially trade-based money laundering, and the Bicester Village example) is genuinely fascinating. It touches on crypto too, although not to the extent of some more crypto-focused books.
3 stars because it remains relatively technical and of niche interest (sadly). But worth a read if you are interested in the area.
February 27, 2026
If you have ever wondered why money launderers are able to get away with it and how governments can't seem to (or won't) stop this most obvious crime - then this is the book for you.
It is also the book for you if you fancy a great read, with loads of interesting things in it (no spoiler alert - just dive in).
Instantly engaging and highly readable - this is excellent and I really enjoyed it.
It is also the book for you if you fancy a great read, with loads of interesting things in it (no spoiler alert - just dive in).
Instantly engaging and highly readable - this is excellent and I really enjoyed it.
April 12, 2026
Стодоларова купюра – найпопулярніший номінал. Двадцять років тому вона поступалася двадцятці та одиниці. Сьогодні «сотка» становить 80% усіх паперових доларів в обігу. 70% із них ніколи не бачили Америки – вони циркулюють за кордоном. Тільки Мексика отримує щорічно близько 25 мільярдів доларів готівкою. Хто несе ці гроші через кордон і навіщо – питання, на яке п'ятдесят років законодавчої боротьби так і не дали відповіді.
April 5, 2026
A fascinating book explaining how the money laundering world works, how some governments have attempted to control it, but actually how their efforts (with one exception) have failed dismally and in some cases actually make it worse.
The book is enlightening and depressing at the same time and is well worth a read.
The book is enlightening and depressing at the same time and is well worth a read.
April 20, 2026
Another wonderful and inciteful book about the dirty money underworld. Incredible we keep doing the same thing and expect different results. But it is clear that the criminals go right to the top. Corrupt politicians are everywhere even Britain. No one wants to rock the boat so we turn a blind eye or accept a new pair of sunglasses, it is all the same. Dirty Money, washed in front of our eyes.
March 7, 2026
Interesting but long-winded. In need of some serious editing.
March 20, 2026
Felt pretty stupid, but also pretty pissed off. In a good way, I guess.
March 30, 2026
A detailed look at money-laundering on an international scale. An interesting subject but a hard slog to get through it.
April 16, 2026
very interesting I learned lots
Very very interesting view into all thinks to do with money laundering extremely well researched and very much worth the time to read it
Very very interesting view into all thinks to do with money laundering extremely well researched and very much worth the time to read it
April 27, 2026
Over many years one financial book 100% worth reading!
June 2, 2026
It’s all about money laundering. Very complicated but explained well. Some good suggestions to deal with a very real problem
July 21, 2026
The best book I’ve read in a while. Truly fascinating, very poignant to what is going on in the UK and US with crypto currently too. Read of the year!
April 12, 2026
A well written exploration into the realities of money laundering, why it exists, why governments allow it to continue, and why the majority of it doesn't look the way you think it does. There's a very good argument made in the book that compliance is almost worthless in its current form, creating nothing but modesty and more importantly liability veils. Further the linking of modern day Chinese rich individuals spending money on holidays to the Florentine Medici's trade Empire is a revelation and Margot Robbie in the bathtub level of high impact popularisation of complex topic.
Definitely something to pop onto your nonfiction reading list if you have one.
Definitely something to pop onto your nonfiction reading list if you have one.
May 6, 2026
This is a must read for every CDC-analyst… Very depressing.
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