[Part 3]In a bold move that has left both fashion critics and political analysts scratching their heads, a group of self-proclaimed patriots (they are called "Termul") have announced their intention to stage a protest at the National Police Headquarters wearing nothing but bras and underwear. The demonstration, dubbed “Operation Lingerie Loyalty,” is allegedly aimed at defending the honour of Jokowi, though details remain as scant as the proposed attire.In the eyes of many critics, the notion of staging a protest at the National Police Headquarters clad solely in bras and underwear is not merely inappropriate—it is a theatrical provocation that risks undermining the very cause it seeks to champion. While some may argue that such a gesture is symbolic, designed to shock the public into paying attention, others contend that it veers dangerously close to sensationalism, reducing political discourse to spectacle.From a moral standpoint, the act challenges conventional standards of public decency, especially within a society that still holds modesty in high regard. It invites scrutiny not only of the protestors’ message but of their methods, prompting questions about whether the shock value serves the cause or distracts from it.Strategically, critics warn that such tactics may backfire. Rather than galvanising support, they risk alienating moderate audiences and providing ammunition to detractors who are eager to dismiss the movement as frivolous or vulgar. In this light, the protest risks becoming a meme rather than a moment—a flash of controversy that fades before it can effect real change.Moreover, the media’s role in amplifying the more salacious aspects of the protest cannot be ignored. By focusing on the garments rather than the grievances, coverage may inadvertently trivialise the underlying issues, turning a political statement into clickbait.So, while the right to protest is sacrosanct, the manner in which one chooses to exercise that right carries consequences—not just for the protestors themselves, but for the credibility of their cause. We support freedom of expression, but we draw the line at thong diplomacy. Public nudity is still illegal, regardless of political intent or brand of underwear.Well, you know, clearly, for those Termuls, the brain’s on holiday and the knees are doing the thinking.Back to our main topic.
Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens by Nicholas Shaxson, published in 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan, is a bold and meticulously researched exposé that challenges the myth of tax havens as harmless financial conveniences. Shaxson argues that offshore banking is not a fringe phenomenon but a central pillar of global capitalism—one that enables elite wealth hoarding, corporate tax avoidance, and the erosion of democratic accountability.He traces how jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands, Jersey, and even Delaware have become secrecy hubs, allowing trillions of dollars to flow untaxed and unregulated. Shaxson shows how these havens are often protected by powerful governments and financial institutions, creating a shadow economy that undermines public services and deepens inequality. The book also reveals how offshore finance distorts markets, fuels corruption, and weakens the sovereignty of developing nations.What makes Treasure Islands especially compelling is its narrative style—Shaxson blends investigative journalism with historical analysis, making complex financial systems accessible and urgent. He doesn’t just critique the system; he names names, maps networks, and calls for radical transparency.The book argues that offshore systems are not peripheral to corruption—they are central to it. Politicians, oligarchs, corporate executives, and criminal networks rely on these jurisdictions to launder money, evade taxes, and conceal ownership. In this sense, tax havens act as the getaway cars for corrupt actors: without them, much of the looting would be impossible or traceable.Shaxson also highlights how offshore finance undermines anti-corruption efforts in developing countries. When stolen assets are parked in London, Zurich, or the British Virgin Islands, local investigators face jurisdictional walls and legal opacity. This global infrastructure of secrecy protects the powerful and punishes the poor, draining public resources and eroding trust in governance.Treasure Islands reframes corruption not as a local pathology but as a global system—one maintained by elite complicity and institutional silence. It challenges readers to see tax havens not as exotic loopholes but as engines of inequality and impunity.In the prologue titled Offshore Awakening, Nicholas Shaxson sets the stage for a journey into the hidden architecture of global finance. He begins with a personal revelation—his gradual realisation that offshore banking is not a marginal or exotic phenomenon, but a central force shaping the world economy. Shaxson describes how the offshore system operates in plain sight, yet remains shrouded in complexity and deliberate secrecy. It is not confined to palm-fringed islands or distant tax havens; it is embedded in major financial centres like London and New York.Shaxson’s awakening is both intellectual and moral. He discovers that offshore finance is not merely about tax avoidance—it is about power, inequality, and the erosion of democratic control. The system allows elites to escape the rules that bind ordinary citizens, creating a parallel world where wealth is protected, hidden, and multiplied beyond scrutiny. He is struck by how little public understanding there is of this machinery, and how deeply it affects everything from poverty to corruption to global instability.Shaxson recounts his initial surprise at discovering how deeply embedded offshore finance is within mainstream economic systems. He describes visiting places like Jersey and the City of London—not exotic islands, but powerful financial hubs—where secrecy and regulatory arbitrage are normalised. While he doesn’t yet dive into specific scandals, he hints at the kinds of abuses that will be explored later: stolen African wealth parked in European banks, multinational corporations shifting profits to avoid taxes, and political elites using shell companies to hide assets.One illustrative moment is his reflection on Angola, where vast oil revenues disappeared into offshore accounts while citizens remained impoverished. Though not detailed as a case study in the prologue, this example foreshadows the book’s central theme: offshore finance enables looting on a global scale, and its damage is felt most acutely in places least equipped to fight back.Shaxson’s prologue is less about naming names and more about setting the mood—a slow unveiling of a system that thrives on opacity, and a promise to expose its mechanics in the chapters ahead.In Chapter I, Welcome to Nowhere, Nicholas Shaxson introduces readers to the elusive world of offshore finance—a realm that is everywhere and nowhere at once. He argues that the term “offshore” does not simply refer to palm-fringed islands or distant tax havens. Instead, it describes a legal and financial space deliberately constructed to exist outside the reach of normal regulation, scrutiny, and taxation. Offshore is not a place—it is a system.Shaxson traces the origins of this system to post-war Britain and the City of London, where financial elites began crafting mechanisms to bypass domestic controls. Over time, this offshore logic spread globally, embedding itself in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Luxembourg, and even within the United States, in states like Delaware. The goal was clear: to create zones of secrecy and privilege where wealth could be hidden, taxes avoided, and laws bent without consequence.He explains that offshore finance is not about geography—it’s about escape. It allows corporations, billionaires, and political elites to operate in a parallel legal universe, shielded from the rules that govern ordinary citizens. Offshore jurisdictions offer anonymity, asset protection, and regulatory arbitrage, making them ideal for tax avoidance, money laundering, and financial manipulation.Shaxson’s tone is investigative and urgent. He wants readers to understand that offshore finance is not a fringe issue—it is a central pillar of modern capitalism. It distorts markets, drains public resources, and undermines democracy. Welcome to Nowhere is not just a chapter title—it’s a metaphor for a system designed to be invisible, unaccountable, and untouchable.In Chapter 2, Nicholas Shaxson unravels the concept of “Technically Abroad” by tracing how powerful business empires exploited offshore structures to operate beyond the reach of domestic law. He begins with the Vestey Brothers, British meat magnates who built a global supply chain while meticulously avoiding taxes in the UK. By registering their companies in jurisdictions like Argentina and the Bahamas, they created the illusion of being foreign, even though their operations and control remained firmly British. This manoeuvre allowed them to dodge scrutiny and maximise profits, all while benefiting from British infrastructure and legal protection.Shaxson then turns to the American Beef Trust, a cartel of meatpacking giants in the United States that similarly used offshore logic—not necessarily through tax havens, but by manipulating corporate structures to dominate markets and suppress competition. These entities pioneered the multinational model: companies that operate across borders, shift profits strategically, and exploit regulatory gaps to consolidate power.The chapter reveals how the rise of multinational corporations was not a natural evolution of global trade, but a calculated strategy to escape accountability. Offshore finance became the toolkit for this escape—enabling secrecy, tax avoidance, and legal arbitrage. The Vesteys and the Beef Trust didn’t just build empires; they built templates for modern corporate behaviour.Shaxson’s narrative shows that offshore isn’t just about hiding money—it’s about reshaping the rules of capitalism. The chapter connects historical examples to contemporary patterns, illustrating how today’s multinationals still rely on the same tricks: being “technically abroad” while remaining deeply embedded in the economies they exploit.In Chapter 3, Nicholas Shaxson contrasts the offshore system with the economic vision of John Maynard Keynes, portraying Keynes as a fierce opponent of unregulated financial capital. The chapter explores how Keynes, writing and working in the mid-20th century, sought to build a world where finance served the real economy—not the other way around. He believed that capital should be controlled, transparent, and subordinate to democratic governance. Offshore finance, by contrast, thrives on secrecy, mobility, and escape from accountability.Shaxson situates Keynes within the post-war effort to stabilise global markets through institutions like Bretton Woods, which aimed to prevent speculative flows and protect national economies. Keynes saw financial speculation as a threat to sovereignty and social welfare. He advocated for capital controls and international cooperation to ensure that money did not undermine public policy. His vision was rooted in the idea that economics should serve people, not just profit.The chapter reveals how the offshore system emerged as a direct rejection of Keynesian ideals. While Keynes wanted finance to be domesticated and disciplined, offshore jurisdictions offered a wild frontier—where capital could roam freely, dodge taxes, and sidestep regulation. Shaxson argues that the rise of offshore finance represents not just a technical shift, but a philosophical reversal: from public interest to private gain, from transparency to opacity.Keynes’s relevance lies in his warning. He understood that if financial capital is left unchecked, it will erode democracy, concentrate wealth, and destabilise societies. Offshore finance, in Shaxson’s framing, is the opposite of Keynes—not just in structure, but in spirit.In chapter 4, Nicholas Shaxson reveals how Wall Street, once constrained by post-Depression regulations in the United States, found a way to reclaim its dominance by rerouting its operations through the City of London. He explains that after World War II, American financial institutions were subject to strict domestic controls designed to prevent speculation and protect the public interest. But rather than dismantling those rules at home, Wall Street discovered a workaround: it could shift its activities offshore, not to a tropical island, but to London’s lightly regulated financial district.The City of London, with its unique legal status and historical autonomy, became the perfect staging ground for this escape. British authorities, eager to revive their global financial relevance, welcomed foreign capital with minimal oversight. This created a parallel system—the Eurodollar market—where dollars could circulate outside U.S. jurisdiction, free from American rules. Wall Street banks seized the opportunity, using London as a launchpad to rebuild their power, bypass regulation, and expand globally.Shaxson shows that this manoeuvre wasn’t just clever—it was transformative. It allowed financial giants to operate in a legal twilight zone, where accountability was blurred and profits soared. The escape to London marked a turning point: offshore finance was no longer about hiding wealth, but about reshaping the architecture of global capitalism. The chapter illustrates how this shift empowered Wall Street, weakened democratic oversight, and laid the groundwork for the financial crises that followed.Shaxson argues that the offshore turn wasn’t accidental—it was strategic, deliberate, and deeply political. It redefined the relationship between finance and the state, turning London into Wall Street’s offshore playground, and proving that the most powerful escapes don’t happen in secret—they happen in plain sight.In Chapter 5, Nicholas Shaxson reveals how Britain, in the aftermath of its formal imperial decline, quietly constructed a new kind of empire—one built not on territory, but on finance. This new empire was woven like a spiderweb, with the City of London at its centre and a constellation of offshore jurisdictions acting as sticky nodes. These jurisdictions—places like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Jersey, and the British Virgin Islands—were not accidents of geography, but deliberate creations of British policy.Shaxson explains that this network was designed to serve the interests of global capital, especially British banks and multinational corporations. By offering secrecy, low taxes, and minimal regulation, these territories became magnets for money seeking escape from scrutiny. The British government, while publicly committed to transparency and development, quietly enabled this system—maintaining control through legal ties, personnel exchanges, and financial influence.The chapter traces how this offshore spiderweb allowed Britain to retain global financial power long after its colonial flags were lowered. It was a strategic pivot: from ruling lands to ruling flows of money. The web was not just about hiding wealth—it was about shaping the rules of global finance in Britain’s favour. Shaxson argues that this system undermines democracy, drains resources from poorer nations, and entrenches inequality.The spiderweb is a metaphor for a system that is both invisible and inescapable. Britain didn’t lose its empire—it reinvented it, using offshore finance as its new dominion.In Chapter 6, Nicholas Shaxson delves into the anatomy of secrecy jurisdictions, revealing how they function not merely as places but as legal constructs designed to shield wealth and obscure ownership. He explores how these jurisdictions—often small territories with outsized financial influence—offer services that allow individuals and corporations to operate in the shadows. These places do not ask questions, do not share information, and do not enforce transparency. They are built to attract money, not to regulate it.Shaxson focuses on how these secrecy jurisdictions are deliberately engineered to frustrate law enforcement, tax authorities, and democratic oversight. He shows that the architecture of offshore finance is not accidental—it is the result of careful lobbying, legal tinkering, and geopolitical strategy. The chapter highlights how lawyers, bankers, and consultants act as intermediaries, constructing complex webs of shell companies, trusts, and nominee arrangements that make it nearly impossible to trace ownership or accountability.He also examines the role of major economies—particularly Britain and the United States—in enabling and protecting these jurisdictions. Far from being rogue outposts, many secrecy havens operate with the tacit approval of powerful governments, which benefit from the capital flows and political leverage they provide. Shaxson argues that this system is not peripheral to global finance—it is central to it, and its consequences are profound: eroded tax bases, weakened democracies, and a growing sense of impunity among the wealthy.The chapter paints a picture of a world where the rules are selectively applied, and where the architecture of secrecy is not a bug in the system—but the system itself.Shaxson also explains how the United States, once a vocal critic of offshore secrecy, gradually came to embrace it—not reluctantly, but strategically. He traces how American policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions shifted from opposing tax havens to actively enabling them. The transformation wasn’t sudden; it unfolded over decades, shaped by lobbying, geopolitical interests, and the growing influence of Wall Street.Shaxson shows that the U.S. didn’t just tolerate offshore finance—it helped build it. While preaching transparency abroad, it quietly allowed states like Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming to become domestic havens, offering shell companies and secrecy protections that rivalled those of the Caribbean. At the same time, U.S. banks and law firms played key roles in setting up offshore structures for clients worldwide, profiting from the very system they once condemned.The chapter reveals how this shift was driven by a desire to maintain financial dominance. Offshore finance became a tool of soft power—allowing the U.S. to attract global capital, influence international norms, and protect its own elites. Shaxson argues that the U.S. learned to stop worrying about the dangers of secrecy because it realised it could control and benefit from the offshore world. The hypocrisy is stark: while pressuring other countries to open up, America built its own fortress of financial opacity. Shaxson paints a picture of a superpower that didn’t lose the offshore war—it flipped the script. The U.S. didn’t dismantle the system—it domesticated it, weaponised it, and made it part of its global strategy.In Chapter 7, The Drain: How Tax Havens Harm Poor Countries, Nicholas Shaxson exposes how offshore finance systematically siphons wealth out of developing nations, leaving behind hollowed-out economies and weakened institutions. He explains that the damage is not always visible—there are no tanks or invasions—but the extraction is relentless. Through secrecy jurisdictions, multinational corporations and local elites shift profits abroad, avoiding taxes and accountability.Shaxson illustrates how this drain operates through trade mispricing, shell companies, and offshore trusts. Corporations underreport the value of exports or inflate the cost of imports, allowing them to move money to tax havens where it disappears from national ledgers. Local elites, often in collusion with foreign advisors, use offshore structures to hide stolen assets, undermining domestic anti-corruption efforts and eroding public trust.He highlights that the consequences are devastating: schools go unfunded, hospitals remain understaffed, and infrastructure projects stall—not because the money isn’t there, but because it’s been spirited away. Shaxson argues that this is not a side effect of globalisation—it is a design feature of offshore capitalism. The system enables looting with legal cover, and poor countries are left to bear the cost.The chapter also reveals how international institutions and rich nations often turn a blind eye. While they preach development and good governance, they allow the offshore system to flourish, because it benefits their own corporations and financial sectors. Shaxson’s tone is urgent and moral—he wants readers to understand that poverty is not merely a domestic failure, but a global crime scene. The Drain reframes the offshore world not as a neutral financial tool, but as a weapon of economic injustice—one that bleeds poor countries dry while enriching the powerful.In Chapter 8, Resistance: In Combat with the Ideological Warriors of Offshore, Nicholas Shaxson explores the intellectual and political battlefront surrounding offshore finance. He introduces readers to a network of economists, lobbyists, lawyers, and think tanks who defend tax havens not as loopholes, but as pillars of freedom and efficiency. These ideological warriors argue that low-tax jurisdictions promote competition, attract investment, and limit government overreach. Shaxson, however, sees this as a carefully constructed narrative—one that masks the damage offshore finance inflicts on democracy, equality, and public accountability.He traces how these defenders of offshore finance operate through academic journals, media platforms, and policy circles, often backed by corporate funding. Their influence shapes public discourse, making secrecy sound like liberty and tax avoidance seem like smart economics. Shaxson reveals how this ideology has become embedded in global governance, with institutions like the OECD and IMF often echoing its logic while failing to confront its consequences.The chapter also highlights the voices of resistance—activists, investigative journalists, and reform-minded officials who challenge the offshore orthodoxy. These actors expose the real costs of secrecy: stolen assets, hollowed-out public services, and rising inequality. Shaxson argues that the fight against offshore finance is not just technical—it is ideological. It requires confronting the myths that sustain the system and reclaiming the language of fairness and transparency.Resistance is a call to intellectual rebellion. Shaxson urges readers to question the narratives that justify offshore finance and to recognise that behind every shell company and secrecy clause lies a political choice—a choice to protect wealth over justice.In Chapter 9, The Life Offshore: The Human Side of Secrecy Jurisdictions, Shaxson shifts the lens from abstract finance to lived experience. He explores what it means to inhabit the offshore world—not just as a banker or lawyer, but as a resident, a worker, or a citizen caught in the machinery of secrecy. The chapter travels through places like Jersey, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands, revealing how these jurisdictions are shaped by their role in global finance—and how that role distorts everyday life.Shaxson describes communities where the economy revolves around offshore services, yet the benefits rarely trickle down. Locals often face high living costs, limited job mobility, and a sense of exclusion from the wealth they help facilitate. Meanwhile, foreign professionals—often white, wealthy, and transient—dominate the upper tiers of society, creating a stratified landscape of privilege and precarity. Offshore finance, he argues, doesn’t just hide money—it reshapes culture, politics, and identity.He also examines how secrecy jurisdictions cultivate a culture of silence. Residents are discouraged from questioning the system, and journalists face legal threats when they investigate. The offshore world thrives on discretion, and that discretion seeps into social norms—producing communities that are outwardly prosperous but inwardly constrained. Shaxson’s narrative is empathetic but critical, showing how the human cost of offshore finance is not just economic, but psychological and civic.The chapter reveals that secrecy jurisdictions are not just technical zones—they are lived spaces. And within those spaces, inequality is not just measured in bank balances, but in voice, visibility, and belonging.According to Shaxson, offshore is not a place—it is a system, and that system is everywhere. While the popular imagination often associates offshore finance with palm-fringed islands and distant tropical havens, Shaxson insists that some of the most powerful secrecy jurisdictions are hiding in plain sight. The Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands certainly play their part, but so do Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man—British Crown Dependencies that operate with quiet autonomy and aggressive financial services.He also points to Luxembourg and Switzerland in continental Europe, both of which have long histories of banking secrecy and corporate opacity. But perhaps most striking is his argument that the United States itself—through states like Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming—functions as a domestic offshore haven, offering shell companies and legal anonymity that rival any Caribbean jurisdiction. The City of London, too, is central to this network, acting as the spider at the heart of Britain’s offshore web.Shaxson’s geography of offshore is deliberately unsettling. It reveals that the system is not confined to exotic outposts—it is embedded within the financial architecture of major economies. Offshore is not somewhere else. It is here, woven into the legal and banking systems of the world’s most powerful nations.In Chapter 10, Ratchet: How Secrecy Jurisdictions Helped Cause the Latest Financial Crisis, Shaxson introduces the metaphor of the “ratchet” to describe how offshore finance locks the global economy into a one-way system of deregulation and opacity. A ratchet, in mechanical terms, allows movement in one direction only—forward, without reversal. Shaxson applies this concept to the political and financial dynamics of secrecy jurisdictions, arguing that once offshore mechanisms are embedded, they become extremely difficult to dismantle. Each new loophole, each new haven, tightens the grip of financial secrecy and weakens the possibility of reform.He traces how offshore jurisdictions contributed to the 2008 financial crisis by enabling excessive risk-taking, regulatory arbitrage, and the concealment of toxic assets. Banks and financial institutions used offshore structures to shift liabilities off their balance sheets, hide exposure, and inflate profits. These jurisdictions provided the legal fog that allowed complex derivatives and shadow banking to flourish—far from the eyes of regulators and taxpayers.In the concluding chapter, Nicholas Shaxson delivers a powerful reflection on what is truly at stake in the fight against offshore finance. He argues that the damage caused by secrecy jurisdictions goes far beyond economics—it corrodes the very fabric of democratic culture. Offshore finance, he says, is not just a technical issue of tax or regulation; it is a political and moral crisis that distorts values, undermines trust, and hollows out the public sphere.Shaxson calls for a collective awakening. He urges citizens, journalists, policymakers, and activists to reclaim the language of fairness, transparency, and accountability. The offshore system, he explains, thrives on complexity and confusion, making ordinary people feel powerless. But reclaiming our cultures means refusing to accept opacity as normal, and demanding that finance serve society—not the other way around.He highlights how offshore finance has reshaped global norms, privileging wealth and secrecy over justice and solidarity. The conclusion is not just a summary—it is a rallying cry. Shaxson insists that reclaiming our cultures requires more than reforming laws; it demands reimagining what kind of society we want to live in. It means challenging the ideological warriors who defend offshore finance, and building institutions that reflect shared values rather than elite interests.Ultimately, Shaxson’s final message is one of hope and resistance. The offshore world may be powerful, but it is not inevitable. Reclaiming our cultures is possible—if we choose to confront the system, expose its myths, and rebuild the foundations of democratic life.Shaxson also explores how political will was eroded by the offshore ratchet. Governments, once committed to oversight, found themselves competing to attract mobile capital by loosening rules. The offshore system didn’t just cause the crisis—it ensured that the response would be weak, fragmented, and tilted in favour of the very institutions that caused the collapse. The ratchet effect meant that secrecy jurisdictions had become too politically entrenched to challenge.Ultimately, Shaxson argues that the offshore world didn’t merely amplify the crisis—it shaped its architecture. The ratchet metaphor captures the irreversible momentum of deregulation, the entrenchment of elite privilege, and the systemic vulnerability that secrecy breeds.When read together, The Corruption Cure and Treasure Islands reveal a disturbing yet clarifying truth: corruption is not merely a local affliction—it is a global architecture, and offshore finance is its scaffolding. Rotberg focuses on the internal dynamics of corrupt states, showing how weak institutions, compromised leadership, and broken accountability mechanisms allow graft to flourish. Shaxson, meanwhile, exposes the external enablers—the secrecy jurisdictions, shell companies, and financial havens that make looting possible and profitable.The synthesis of these two works suggests that fighting corruption requires more than moral reform or domestic policy—it demands dismantling the offshore system that launders impunity. Rotberg’s call for integrity, transparency, and civic renewal must be matched by Shaxson’s demand for structural change in global finance. Together, they argue that corruption is not just about bad actors—it’s about bad systems that reward secrecy and punish honesty.Ultimately, reclaiming justice means reconnecting ethics with economics. It means building institutions that serve the public, not private wealth. And it means recognising that the fight against corruption is not just a national struggle—it is a planetary one, waged across borders, bank accounts, and belief systems.I can’t help wondering—what’s the real reason Tony Blair was brought in to help steer the IKN project? Tony Blair’s involvement in Indonesia’s new capital city project, Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), is not merely symbolic—it reflects a strategic attempt to lend global credibility to a domestic megaproject. As a former British Prime Minister, Blair brings diplomatic weight, international networks, and a reputation for navigating complex governance reforms. His appointment to the IKN Steering Committee, alongside figures like Masayoshi Son and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, signals Indonesia’s desire to position IKN as a globally recognised, future-facing city.Blair’s role extends beyond ceremonial duties. Through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he has offered policy advice, investment strategies, and urban development insights. His presence is meant to attract foreign investors, reassure global partners, and frame IKN as a smart, inclusive, and sustainable city. More recently, Blair was appointed to the supervisory board of Danantara, Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth superholding, further embedding him in the architecture of national investment.Yet, for those familiar with Nicholas Shaxson’s Treasure Islands, Blair’s legacy is not without controversy. His tenure saw the entrenchment of Britain’s offshore financial empire, and his post-office career has involved advisory roles in regions with opaque governance. His presence in IKN raises questions: Is this global expertise, or is it the quiet import of offshore logic into Indonesia’s political capital?
[Part 1]
