Omnibus: From the Invention of Offshore to Today

Available for over a year

Author and journalist Oliver Bullough traces Britain's vital role in the growth of 'offshore' money laundering - from its origins in the City of the 1950s, through to its impact today. In this omnibus edition of the series, he traces the origins of 'offshore' back to the sleepy City of London of the 1950s. A moment of inspiration fuses with the shock of the Suez Crisis to create the launch of a whole new approach to finance. From there, he traces how offshoring developed through Britain's links to an unusual number of islands - the 'last pink bits' on the old Imperial map, and Crown Dependencies, such as Jersey. Next he explores the arrival of Russian oligarchs in the 1990s, and the growth of the shell company. Finally, he asks why efforts such as the government's much-heralded Unexplained Wealth Orders have not so far managed to stop offshore money laundering - and explores what might work instead. Producer: Phil Tinline