A new report, 'What's the Risk? PR & Communications Agencies and Kleptocracy', by Thomas Mayne, Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and published by the Foreign Policy Centre, was launched yesterday at an event in the House of Parliament.
The Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, co-chair of the APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, led the panel discussion with the report's author, Thomas Mayne, together with Farzana Baduel, CEO of Curzon PR and Franz Wild, Editor of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Opening remarks were provided by Alastair McCapra, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CPIR), a professional body for PR practitioners in the UK.
Our country is still one of the world's favourite places for economic crime. Kleptocrats have a multi-step process - they steal money, hide money, migrate, spend the money, dodge law enforcement, then launder their reputations to protect themselves. Many come to London because we are a one-stop shop for all the expert advisors you need.
“What we see as MPs is that reputation-laundering is at the interface of inequalities of wealth becoming inequalities of power. You cannot acquire power, no matter your level of wealth, unless you go through a process of reputation-laundering.” - Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP
Notes
● The report is available on the Foreign Policy Centre's website - https://fpc.org.uk/publications/whats-the-risk-pr-communication-agencies-and-kleptocracy/
● A short summary of the report, its key findings and recommendations is available here - https://fpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PR-Communication-Agencies-and-Kleptocracy-summary.pdf
For more information or interviews, please contact: Poppy Ogier, Communication and Research Manager, the Foreign Policy Centre, poppy.ogier@fpc.org.uk