osh. Where to start with Tom Burgis’ latest book, “Cuckooland.” I guess it would be best to start with the easiest bits. Burgis’ book recounts his investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding Mohamed Amersi and Amersi’s efforts to insinuate himself into the ranks of the great and good in the United Kingdom. So far, so standard, but where the book takes a turn is that it centers on a lengthy conversation Burgis had with Amersi in which the latter attempts to set the record straight, but spends what seems like several hours telling Burgis what a terrible reporter he is and how all of—well, almost all—of his facts are wrong. “Cuckooland” reads like the film “Frost/Nixon” in which the journalist David Frost does battle with the former U.S. president. It is riveting and rather unlike any book on corruption yet written.
This is both what makes “Cuckooland” great and unique. It is a book about the nature of corruption, how it infects business and politics, and those that both enable and profit from said corruption. It is a brutally fast–paced work of investigative journalism. It is, at times, savagely funny due solely to Amersi’s behavior, and Burgis unwillingness to take the bait and, instead, playing his role with an entirely straight bat. “I will prove to you…that everything you’ve written is 95% bullshit, lies and bias,” Amersi exclaims. “I hope your publishers are going to view this tape recording, so they know before they publish shit what it is.”
Amersi is linked to several cases of alleged corruption in the telecom industry, from which he is alleged to have greatly profited (though not nearly as much as those who he facilitated or enabled). Whether in Russia, Central Asia, or further afield, he facilitated the significant transfer of wealth to those in power from those wishing to do business with those in power. Foreign potentates leverage their offices for their own enrichment. Amersi functions like a facilitator, siphoning off a nice commission for himself in the process.
Amersi has a curious relationship with the truth and an even curiouser relationship with what constitutes corruption. This, then, represents the cuckoo aspect of Burgis’ title—people who must believe two things at once, when only one can really be true. Is Amersi, who spars so crassly and vulgarly with Burgis across a law office’s boardroom table, a wholly corrupt and opportunistic person? Or is he the person he wishes to present: a supporter of noble causes, educational institutions, and friend to those elected and born to power in the United Kingdom? Amersi craves legitimacy and acceptance into the elite circles of those whom he orbits . He donated rather large sums to the Conservative Party to curry favor and access, even purchasing a magic show from Penny Mourdaunt, a sitting MP (and apparently an amateur magician), supporting royal gardening projects, and supporting the grandest educational institutions in the land.
Burgis is a masterful interlocutor, never rising to his interviewee’s barbs or jabs, merely allowing the absurdity to display itself. He takes the abuse on the chin. Amersi is thin–skinned and abrasive, petulant and preening. One suspects that he has managed to obfuscate the truth so much to the outside world that in so doing he has tied himself up in metaphysical knots. It must have been hard for Burgis to keep a journalistic straight face throughout these encounters as he was hectored and insulted while Amersi sought to put the record straight—at least from his perspective.
By focusing on Amersi, Burgis offers readers an intriguing window into the world of corruption and its broader ecosystem, but at the same time his focus constrains the extent of his inquiry. Amersi is but one piece of much larger and very complex networks and, at times, the reader does wish Burgis went deeper into these allegations and cases or “followed the money,” as it were. As a literary hook it remains, nonetheless, very interesting and rather enjoyable.
Amersi appears to be, indeed, just a cog in the machine of corruption. There are the political fundraisers who accepted his money, offering access and influence in exchange. There are the litigious lawyers who sue for libel at the drop of a hat and leverage Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to bully reporters like Burgis and the indomitable Catherine Belton (author of the magisterial “Putin’s People” and target of oligarch–driven SLAPPs) with the threat of massive legal fees. There are the banks and institutions that cleverly create mechanisms to expropriate funds, squirrel them away, and enable access to the powerful and corrupt, all while avoiding taxation. Then there are the lower–tier beneficiaries—the hotels, art brokers, car dealers, and the like—that profit from the corruption at the consumer level.
Every person in this ecosystem undoubtedly justifies their own behaviors and actions to themselves. Of course, those at the bottom of the food chain are far less culpable than those near the source of the corruption. Law offices and financial institutions are more likely or legally obligated to conduct due diligence and “know–your–customer” financial background checks, but these are more morally and ethically flexible, provided the check clears. Given the eye–watering sums of money transferring hands, “she may not be the squeakiest of clean individuals, but it's best that she does business with us,” they might say.
“Cuckooland” is also a gem of something that is increasingly rare: truly impressive and worthwhile journalism. The social media era incentivizes journalistic hot takes and insta–commentary over the dogged pursuit of truth. The rush to get the story out and get the clicks, sorry—engagement—matters more than the actual content. At the same time, and as Burgis and Belton have experienced, the wealthy will use the threat of legal action, especially in the United Kingdom given its rather permissive libel laws and their potentially ruinous expense, to bully journalists into submission. This is deterrence by example, and it has a chilling effect on journalism: If “they” can force a reporter from the Financial Times or the Washington Post to back down, what could they do to another, smaller newspaper, or the press in their home countries?
The question, and one Burgis is neither expected to nor does answer, is “now what?” Amersi was certainly profligate in his alleged corruption and efforts to buy access and curry favor, but he was far from the worst offender even among those known cases, and undoubtedly there are many more we don’t know. We know about corruption and the perniciousness of how money can buy influence politically and legally. We know that the wealthy enjoy access of which we can only dream; that their voices and reach are heard and extend much further than ours ever could. If those entrusted with power are not held to account, what hope can there be for reform or progress?
“Cuckooland” is a fitting companion to Burgis’ first book “Kleptopia,” which offered a deep dive into this world. It joins Oliver Bullough’s “Butler to the World” and Casey Michel’s “American Kleptocracy” among others that have shone a bright spotlight on the world of global corruption. While awareness is a prerequisite to action, it remains to be seen whether action will follow and at what pace. The fight against corruption already seems to proceed at a glacial pace, but when one sees the totality of the ecosystem that both profits from and enables its profligacy, as Burgis illuminates, hope dims that significant progress is possible..
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April 13, 2024
Tom Burgis’ latest book Cuckooland is a unique, fascinating read about corruption, and reads like the film “Frost/Nixon.” Burgis delivers a masterfully handled investigation into the nexus of corruption, business, and politics, but it still begs the question of “what next,” writes Joshua Huminski.
G
osh. Where to start with Tom Burgis’ latest book, “Cuckooland.” I guess it would be best to start with the easiest bits. Burgis’ book recounts his investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding Mohamed Amersi and Amersi’s efforts to insinuate himself into the ranks of the great and good in the United Kingdom. So far, so standard, but where the book takes a turn is that it centers on a lengthy conversation Burgis had with Amersi in which the latter attempts to set the record straight, but spends what seems like several hours telling Burgis what a terrible reporter he is and how all of—well, almost all—of his facts are wrong. “Cuckooland” reads like the film “Frost/Nixon” in which the journalist David Frost does battle with the former U.S. president. It is riveting and rather unlike any book on corruption yet written.
This is both what makes “Cuckooland” great and unique. It is a book about the nature of corruption, how it infects business and politics, and those that both enable and profit from said corruption. It is a brutally fast–paced work of investigative journalism. It is, at times, savagely funny due solely to Amersi’s behavior, and Burgis unwillingness to take the bait and, instead, playing his role with an entirely straight bat. “I will prove to you…that everything you’ve written is 95% bullshit, lies and bias,” Amersi exclaims. “I hope your publishers are going to view this tape recording, so they know before they publish shit what it is.”
Amersi is linked to several cases of alleged corruption in the telecom industry, from which he is alleged to have greatly profited (though not nearly as much as those who he facilitated or enabled). Whether in Russia, Central Asia, or further afield, he facilitated the significant transfer of wealth to those in power from those wishing to do business with those in power. Foreign potentates leverage their offices for their own enrichment. Amersi functions like a facilitator, siphoning off a nice commission for himself in the process.
Amersi has a curious relationship with the truth and an even curiouser relationship with what constitutes corruption. This, then, represents the cuckoo aspect of Burgis’ title—people who must believe two things at once, when only one can really be true. Is Amersi, who spars so crassly and vulgarly with Burgis across a law office’s boardroom table, a wholly corrupt and opportunistic person? Or is he the person he wishes to present: a supporter of noble causes, educational institutions, and friend to those elected and born to power in the United Kingdom? Amersi craves legitimacy and acceptance into the elite circles of those whom he orbits . He donated rather large sums to the Conservative Party to curry favor and access, even purchasing a magic show from Penny Mourdaunt, a sitting MP (and apparently an amateur magician), supporting royal gardening projects, and supporting the grandest educational institutions in the land.
Burgis is a masterful interlocutor, never rising to his interviewee’s barbs or jabs, merely allowing the absurdity to display itself. He takes the abuse on the chin. Amersi is thin–skinned and abrasive, petulant and preening. One suspects that he has managed to obfuscate the truth so much to the outside world that in so doing he has tied himself up in metaphysical knots. It must have been hard for Burgis to keep a journalistic straight face throughout these encounters as he was hectored and insulted while Amersi sought to put the record straight—at least from his perspective.
By focusing on Amersi, Burgis offers readers an intriguing window into the world of corruption and its broader ecosystem, but at the same time his focus constrains the extent of his inquiry. Amersi is but one piece of much larger and very complex networks and, at times, the reader does wish Burgis went deeper into these allegations and cases or “followed the money,” as it were. As a literary hook it remains, nonetheless, very interesting and rather enjoyable.
Amersi appears to be, indeed, just a cog in the machine of corruption. There are the political fundraisers who accepted his money, offering access and influence in exchange. There are the litigious lawyers who sue for libel at the drop of a hat and leverage Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to bully reporters like Burgis and the indomitable Catherine Belton (author of the magisterial “Putin’s People” and target of oligarch–driven SLAPPs) with the threat of massive legal fees. There are the banks and institutions that cleverly create mechanisms to expropriate funds, squirrel them away, and enable access to the powerful and corrupt, all while avoiding taxation. Then there are the lower–tier beneficiaries—the hotels, art brokers, car dealers, and the like—that profit from the corruption at the consumer level.
Every person in this ecosystem undoubtedly justifies their own behaviors and actions to themselves. Of course, those at the bottom of the food chain are far less culpable than those near the source of the corruption. Law offices and financial institutions are more likely or legally obligated to conduct due diligence and “know–your–customer” financial background checks, but these are more morally and ethically flexible, provided the check clears. Given the eye–watering sums of money transferring hands, “she may not be the squeakiest of clean individuals, but it's best that she does business with us,” they might say.
“Cuckooland” is also a gem of something that is increasingly rare: truly impressive and worthwhile journalism. The social media era incentivizes journalistic hot takes and insta–commentary over the dogged pursuit of truth. The rush to get the story out and get the clicks, sorry—engagement—matters more than the actual content. At the same time, and as Burgis and Belton have experienced, the wealthy will use the threat of legal action, especially in the United Kingdom given its rather permissive libel laws and their potentially ruinous expense, to bully journalists into submission. This is deterrence by example, and it has a chilling effect on journalism: If “they” can force a reporter from the Financial Times or the Washington Post to back down, what could they do to another, smaller newspaper, or the press in their home countries?
The question, and one Burgis is neither expected to nor does answer, is “now what?” Amersi was certainly profligate in his alleged corruption and efforts to buy access and curry favor, but he was far from the worst offender even among those known cases, and undoubtedly there are many more we don’t know. We know about corruption and the perniciousness of how money can buy influence politically and legally. We know that the wealthy enjoy access of which we can only dream; that their voices and reach are heard and extend much further than ours ever could. If those entrusted with power are not held to account, what hope can there be for reform or progress?
“Cuckooland” is a fitting companion to Burgis’ first book “Kleptopia,” which offered a deep dive into this world. It joins Oliver Bullough’s “Butler to the World” and Casey Michel’s “American Kleptocracy” among others that have shone a bright spotlight on the world of global corruption. While awareness is a prerequisite to action, it remains to be seen whether action will follow and at what pace. The fight against corruption already seems to proceed at a glacial pace, but when one sees the totality of the ecosystem that both profits from and enables its profligacy, as Burgis illuminates, hope dims that significant progress is possible..
