The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire

Listen to this interesting interview with the members of Positive Money local group in Southampton, Charlie and Phil, about the new film The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire, on Awaaz FM Radio:

(44 min)

The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire produced by John Christensen (co-founder of the Tax Justice Network) and directed by Michael Oswald, is a documentary film that shows how Britain transformed from a colonial power into a global financial power.

At the demise of empire, City of London financial interests created a web of offshore secrecy jurisdictions that captured wealth from across the globe and hid it behind obscure financial structures in a web of offshore islands. Today, up to half of global offshore wealth may be hidden in British offshore jurisdictions and Britain and its offshore jurisdictions are the largest global players in the world of international finance. How did this come about, and what impact does it have on the world today? This is what The Spider’s Web sets out to investigate.

The Spider’s Web is the final film in a trilogy of economics documentaries, the first one being 97% Owned: How is money created, and the second, Princes of the Yen: Central Banks and the Transformation of the Economy.

You can watch the trailer here.