This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy

Episode 1

Money Laundering: A How to Guide

Fri, Feb 22, 201945 mins

What do you do when you have a lot of cash that wasn't exactly earned legally? Easy. You launder it. But here's the harder question: How EXACTLY do you launder it? Host Kal Penn sets out to talk to people in the know --international bankers, lawyers, investigative journalists, and money launderers themselves, to find out how the world's dirty money gets cleaned. Kal starts his journey in Miami, talking to convicted money launderer, Humberto Aguilar, about how it's done. Aguilar's expertise from the "glory days" of Miami's cocaine heyday leads Kal to the island nation of Cyprus. There, he meet a slew of characters who reveal all the ways that money laundering has played into Cyprus's economy -- but is it still going on? Kal eventually has to leave Cyprus to get the clearest answer. He travels to London to meet Panicos Demetriades, former governor of the Bank of Cyprus, who fled the country after blowing the whistle on continued money laundering in the country. Panicos reveals the ways that powerful people across the globe are continuing to launder money through secret networks -- and not just through Cyprus. Back in America, Kal gets advice from a man who has truly seen and done it all -- including money laundering, jewel smuggling, Bin-Laden hunting and working for three-letter government agencies to stop money laundering: Felix Sater. Like the Wizard of Oz, Sater reveals that the thing Kal's been looking for has been right at home in the US all along. This episode includes appearances by Joel McHale and Thomas Middleditch.