The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire (Documentary; 2017)
Director, Producer: Michael Oswald
I always wondered how Britain, after 200 years of ruling over almost half of the globe, survived after losing everything after the Second World War. It is a mystery how they continued their role in being one of the economic powerhouses of the world.
It is no secret that WW2 marked the beginning of setting of the sun over the British Empire. Slowly, one by one, its colonies demanded to be cut off their attachments to the Crown. The coup de grâce must have come after their disastrous 1956 campaign over the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by President Nasser.
The value of the pound-sterling plummeted. Foreign investors withdrew their investments. A special market was created to circumvent the control of the monetary bodies of the UK. Hence was born the London Euro-Dollar market to keep investors' interest in Britain. This was the precursor to the setting up of the spider's web of secrecy jurisdiction in the remote off-shore tax havens.
These tax havens were mostly British territories like Cayman Island, Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Jersey in the UK. Soon Americans set up their own concerns in the Caribbean with the same midis operandi - funnelling global funds which were obtained clandestinely and laundered into London and other Western markets. The web attracted bankers, lawyers, accountants and the elite of the society. It formed like a secret society that drew in ill-gotten spoils from drugs and corruption the world over to syphon it to finance more than 90% of international loans.
Bankers are a protected species. No law so far has significantly brought down big banks. Bank of England and its affiliates carry out their tasks with impunity. The City of London, it seems, because of 1066 William the Conqueror's failure to capture this town, has its own council and elected its own Lord Mayor. (Cf. Mayor is a political post elected four years once; Lord Mayor of London is an annual apolitical appointment by the Sovereign.) The council is made up of a guild of businessmen, retired high-ranking civil servants and aristocrats who have no qualms using public funds for personal gains. They are also seen making use of public monies for dubious business ventures. They are experts in creating shell companies and concocting creative accounts to cover their trails. Just in case their endeavours go south, the general public can always be used to bail them out. They are, after all, protected by the law.
Losers of the deal are also the citizens of Africa and other third world countries who are regularly looted by their elites with the help of these financial wizards. CIA is known to finance covert operations via this channel.
One of the purposes of this offering is to make its viewers aware of the dealings of these big conglomerate. The general public, in turn, must demand greater transparency in their leaders' dealings. The national agreements should not be official secrets but must be assessed by concerned citizens.
It is no secret that WW2 marked the beginning of setting of the sun over the British Empire. Slowly, one by one, its colonies demanded to be cut off their attachments to the Crown. The coup de grâce must have come after their disastrous 1956 campaign over the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by President Nasser.
The value of the pound-sterling plummeted. Foreign investors withdrew their investments. A special market was created to circumvent the control of the monetary bodies of the UK. Hence was born the London Euro-Dollar market to keep investors' interest in Britain. This was the precursor to the setting up of the spider's web of secrecy jurisdiction in the remote off-shore tax havens.
These tax havens were mostly British territories like Cayman Island, Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Jersey in the UK. Soon Americans set up their own concerns in the Caribbean with the same midis operandi - funnelling global funds which were obtained clandestinely and laundered into London and other Western markets. The web attracted bankers, lawyers, accountants and the elite of the society. It formed like a secret society that drew in ill-gotten spoils from drugs and corruption the world over to syphon it to finance more than 90% of international loans.
Bankers are a protected species. No law so far has significantly brought down big banks. Bank of England and its affiliates carry out their tasks with impunity. The City of London, it seems, because of 1066 William the Conqueror's failure to capture this town, has its own council and elected its own Lord Mayor. (Cf. Mayor is a political post elected four years once; Lord Mayor of London is an annual apolitical appointment by the Sovereign.) The council is made up of a guild of businessmen, retired high-ranking civil servants and aristocrats who have no qualms using public funds for personal gains. They are also seen making use of public monies for dubious business ventures. They are experts in creating shell companies and concocting creative accounts to cover their trails. Just in case their endeavours go south, the general public can always be used to bail them out. They are, after all, protected by the law.
Losers of the deal are also the citizens of Africa and other third world countries who are regularly looted by their elites with the help of these financial wizards. CIA is known to finance covert operations via this channel.
One of the purposes of this offering is to make its viewers aware of the dealings of these big conglomerate. The general public, in turn, must demand greater transparency in their leaders' dealings. The national agreements should not be official secrets but must be assessed by concerned citizens.