1st August 2026
John Christensen knows because he was there. As Jersey's Head of the Government Economic Service, he witnessed first-hand how political power, financial interests and official secrecy combined to protect wrongdoing. Eventually he decided to expose what he had discovered, beginning a journey that helped shape the global tax justice movement.
In this podcast we discuss whistleblowing, corruption, the culture of secrecy, and why offshore finance has always been about far more than tax. We explain why the City of London remains central to the offshore system, how international institutions enabled it, and why many of the underlying political attitudes remain remarkably unchanged today.
We also discuss the political economy behind offshore finance. Why do secrecy jurisdictions exist? How much responsibility lies with places like Jersey, and how much with the City of London? What role have governments, banks, auditors and international institutions played in sustaining the offshore system? And have things really changed over the last thirty years?
We also reflect on the creation of the Tax Justice Network, the reforms that have been achieved, including automatic information exchange and country-by-country reporting, and the challenges that remain. We also look ahead to our next conversation on The Finance Curse documentary and why Britain's economic model still depends too heavily on financial engineering rather than productive investment.
If you care about tax justice, democracy, financial secrecy and how power really operates, this conversation provides a rare insider's account.