The Paradise Conspiracy

by Ian Wishart

A death, missing computer disks, a winebox full of secret files, a tax haven, alleged extortion, arms dealing, corruption, coverups and criminal fraud, billion dollar deals, kidnap attempts, espionage, secret military operations, death threats, break-ins, a maverick politician...and an investigative television team's battle to expose the truthFollow The Paradise Conspiracy on a journey to a country you never knew existed, that politicians would still have you believe doesn't exist, a place one diplomat called 'a dirty little country'.Using a New Zealand Government bank as their flagship, they sailed the seas of global high finance under a tax haven's Jolly Roger, their victims the taxpayers of an unsuspecting world.This is the story they spent two years and a million dollars trying to muzzle, but the biggest secrets are about to be told.The Paradise Conspiracy - the explosive true narrative behind the winebox investigation that embroiled New Zealand, Australia, the US, Japan, the UK and tax havens across the planet - from the award-winning journalist who cracked the winebox code - it doesn't read like a tax story, it reads like a crime story.

The Paradise Conspiracy by Ian Wishart was a #1 bestseller in its home market and quickly spread around the world, notching up 40,000 copy sales and inspiring a movie, 'Spooked'

408 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Ian Wishart is a multi-award winning investigative journalist and bestselling author of more than 20 books, who's now in his fourth decade in the news business. His writing style has often been compared to John Grisham by reviewers.

He's been a radio News Director, a Chief of Staff for TV3 News and a magazine editor. His work has featured in the Times of London, Daily Mail, New Zealand Herald and America's massive Coast to Coast radio programme - to name a few. His books Totalitaria, Air Con and Vitamin D became Amazon bestsellers worldwide.

While writing his first book, The Paradise Conspiracy, Wishart's TVNZ office was discovered to have been bugged, his home was broken into, the manuscript for the book stolen, and an attempt was made on his life. Needless to say, he survived to write the story.

The first four chapters of The Paradise Conspiracy inspired movie director Geoff Murphy ("Young Guns II", "Under Siege 2") to produce the movie "Spooked" starring Cliff Curtis ("Runaway Jury", "Live Free or Die Hard") in a loose portrayal of Wishart's role as an investigative journalist.

He's been shot at, tear-gassed and stalked, but Wishart says his motivation remains telling the stories that "need to be told", whether its new leads on cold case murders, or government espionage.

As well as writing books, Wishart also divides his time between operating the http://www.investigatedaily.com and http://www.ianwishartpublishing.com websites - the latter catering to his writing and publishing clients.

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Conspiracy is one of the most interesting books of investigative journalism that I've ever read. I'm glad I knew nothing about the events that occurred before reading the book because everything that occurred was a surprise. They can't write fiction to match this book. It involves wealthy bankers from the UK, beautiful resorts in the Tropics, crooked politicians in a few of the countries involved, hired hit men and a couple of reporters who could smell a well hidden secret involving a group of men sending money from one continent to another to confuse authorities. "Follow The Paradise Conspiracy on a journey to a country you never knew existed, that politicians would still have you believe doesn't exist, a place one diplomat called 'a dirty little country'. Using a New Zealand Government bank as their flagship, they sailed the seas of global high finance under a tax haven's Jolly Roger, their victims the taxpayers of an unsuspecting world.This is the story they spent two years and a million dollars trying to muzzle." I read an original version written in 1995; I may read the updated publication to see the results of this case 20 years later.

[Brian Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paradise Conspiracy by Ian Wishart, is a true story set in the 1980s and 1990s. Known as the wine box investigations, it involves: secret files, arms dealing, corruption, money laundering, death threats, kidnap and more. Ian Wishart, is one of New Zealand’s best investigative journalists and this is his story as he and Winston Peters, a New Zealand politician, uncover a scheme to defraud New Zealand, Australian, Japanese and other country tax systems of millions of dollars through the Cook Island tax haven.

This story begins in June 1992, when a 26 year old second-hand computer dealer purchased a set of used floppy discs discarded by an international bank. The information on these discs lead Wishart and Peters on a path of discovery as they uncover schemes to launder money and defraud countries of millions of dollars in tax revenue. In September 1992, Paul White dies mysteriously in what junior police investigators conclude to be a car accident. Wishart, himself, prior to publishing this book finds that his car brakes have been tampered with, while others sharing information experience death-threats.

Airing this discovery on television is beleaguered with threats, court injunctions and Management obstacles, and in parliament by opposition by some National members of parliament. It is not until two years later that Wishart and Peter’s tenacity is rewarded with the public airing of the wine box.

While the book at times is not easy reading it is a book I strongly recommend.

[Stephanie]

I'm not very far into this book yet but will update as I progress

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting but not for everyone. Parts become very technical, since the subject matter deals with major tax evasions, but overall an amazing true story. I found it very captivating.