The ‘last pink bits’ of the British empire are autonomous and not autonomous – to the great benefit of the super-rich
- Oliver Bullough is the author of Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back
Geoffrey Cox often has more important things to do than vote in the House of Commons, but one debate he did attend was back in 2018, when MPs discussed forcing Britain’s overseas territories to open up their corporate registries – the databases that reveal the actual people behind the shell companies.
The proposal was controversial. Setting up an offshore entity is not itself illegal, but the secrecy offered is attractive to tax evaders, fraudsters and money launderers. On one hand, if passed, it could expose the secrets of the thousands of companies, and thus dissuade any sinners from routing their business through Britain’s offshore archipelago in future. On the other hand, if would involve London imposing its will on people to whom it had made a promise of self-government, and thus be an act of neocolonial arrogance. Cox knew which side he was on.
Oliver Bullough is the author of Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back
