S&D E35: Dirty Money Wins with Oliver Bullough and Jason Sandoval

Oliver Bullough has written three books on how dirty money moves around the world. His single biggest finding is so low-tech it almost sounds like a joke. Jason Sandoval, former DEA special agent and Asset Reality’s Head of European Operations, spent thirty years chasing the same problem. One investigated it, the other wrote about it. Together, they unpack why the global system for tackling money laundering is not working and what it would take to build something that does.

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⏱️ Timestamps

02:30 – Money laundering as a meta-crime

13:00 – Carousel fraud and what a mission-led response looks like

24:00 – High-denomination banknotes and who is actually using them

29:30 – Operation Destabilise and cash-for-crypto

35:00 – Political will vs operational realities

40:10 – Asset recovery as a fourteen-point swing

42:20 – Oliver’s prescription

👤 About Our Guest

Oliver Bullough is an award-winning journalist and author of Moneyland, Butler to the World, and Everybody Loves Our Dollars. He has spent his career mapping how dirty money moves globally, writing for The Guardian, The New York Times, GQ, and The Economist. This is his second appearance on Seize and Desist.

🔑 Key Takeaways

Criminals Go Where Defences Are Weakest: As banks tightened controls, criminal wealth moved to crypto and trade finance, which remain vastly under-regulated.

Carousel Fraud Shows What Works: The UK’s near-complete defeat of carousel fraud shows what happens when intelligence, law enforcement and legislation pull together with a shared mission.

High-denomination Banknotes Undermine Everything: Fewer than 15% of US transactions are now done in cash, yet demand for $100 bills keeps rising. Central banks are printing them without asking where the demand is coming from.

Asset Recovery Is a Fourteen-Point Swing: Taking assets from criminals degrades their capability and improves law enforcement’s at the same time.

Political Will Is the Missing Variable: Every intervention Oliver identifies is achievable. The barrier is the political will to confront the interests of those with wealth to hide.

📚 Resources Mentioned

• Everybody Loves Our Dollars by Oliver Bullough: https://amzn.eu/d/06emtzVh
• Butler to the World by Oliver Bullough: https://amzn.eu/d/gaqVRE9
• Moneyland by Oliver Bullough: https://amzn.eu/d/ezB43Rv
• Oliver Bullough on The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/oliverbullough
• Seize & Desist Episode 19 with Oliver Bullough: https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/d9980f5e-8a52-48d5-a31b-0ecfe2a3cc89?d=eJs8ymAzD&v=8112
  

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