Whale Hunting
This is WHALE HUNTING, a weekly podcast that pulls back the curtain on the hidden worlds of money and power, hosted by investigative journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. Previously long-time reporters for the Wall Street Journal, Tom and Bradley now run Project Brazen, a journalism studio that’s published stories on everything from US Navy corruption to spycraft in Silicon Valley and embezzlement at the heart of Spain’s royal family. On the podcast, they share what’s got them talking each week, from headlines to underworld gossip, with obscene tales of corruption, insights on the bizarre habits of billionaires, and conversations with reporters, spies, hostage negotiators, cops, authors, and the occasional criminal.
Episodes
The Man Stealing Billions of Dollars from the US Economy, Mauerberger's Spiderweb
This episode of Whale Hunting explores the intricate web of illicit activities surrounding Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African involved in high-stakes financial crimes across Asia. Hosted by Journalists Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, the discussion delves into money laundering, scam industries, and geopolitical implications.
Key Topics
Benjamin Malberger's background and rise in illicit finance
T
From A Curious Worldview: How did MBS rise to power?
Thanks for listening to season three of Whale Hunting. We've heard from the biographer of the world’s most secretive billionaire, the man running a TV network under the Taliban, the undercover agent who exposed the world’s most corrupt bank, and so many more people who have spent months and years revealing hidden worlds of money and power. We’re taking a short break, but we'll be back in 2025 with
How did federal agents infiltrate the world’s dirtiest bank?
A rare opportunity arises when global financial institutions implode: a brief window into how the world really works. There’s an opportunity to learn how money is laundered and where it’s coming from, which financial instruments or jurisdictions are being used to aid and abet criminals, and which drug lords or even governments are trying to hide what they’re up to. In 1991, the Pakistani-owned Ban
Why does Elon Musk need private spies?
For the right price, a billionaire can buy almost anything in the private intelligence industry. Investigators will covertly dig through bins, pose as friendly faces to deceptively extract information, and even coordinate offensive hacking attacks to access private data. Although this by no means represents the whole industry, there is nothing off-menu to the world's wealthiest if you know the rig
What does Iran achieve by outsourcing assassination attempts in the West?
Iran’s war with Israel and the U.S. has been waged through numerous proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen — but more recently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, have been “outsourcing” their operations on foreign soil to lesser-known actors. At least 33 attempted hits and abductions have allegedly been orchestrated from Iran since 2020, carried out by individuals with litt
Do Hezbollah's booby-trapped pagers herald a new era of warfare?
Conventional warfare no longer exists. Drones, offensive hacking techniques and even sonic weaponry is upending how conflict is waged — and the recent Israeli intelligence operation to plant explosives in pagers used by Hezbollah’s militants may well prove to be a watershed moment. It claimed 39 lives and wounded thousands of Lebanese civilians in markets and public places across the country, a br
Why was the FBI fascinated by the artist Mark Lombardi?
Mark Lombardi was on the cusp of international success with his provocative artwork. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide? And why did the FBI ask to examine one of his artworks in the direct aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks? Mark’s life is the subject of Brazen’s newest podcast, The Illuminator — and in this special episode of Whale Hunting, we hear from art curat
How did the FSB infiltrate one of Sweden’s biggest banks?
Honeypot operations are one of the oldest tricks in the espionage playbook — get access to sensitive information through a wily femme fatale. Scandinavian banking giant Swedbank was recently the target of such a plot. By leveraging kompromat about top executives — some of whom had a proclivity for unfaithful sexual relationships and drug abuse — Russian intelligence were able to ensure that oligar
How did Credit Suisse become the most scandal-ridden bank of all time?
Swiss banking has long been synonymous with secrecy, a harbinger of two things in the financial world: opportunity and risk. And Credit Suisse struggled to handle this balancing act for years, leading to its spectacular implosion in 2023. Switzerland’s second largest bank had long been unscrupulous about housing ill-gotten wealth. Its bankers looked after Nazi loot and did business with “kings of
How do you stop Putin’s war machine?
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Western economies scrambled to coordinate an offensive of their own: sanctions. They weaponized economic tools in the hope of blunting Putin’s attacks, and more than $300 billion in Russian assets were frozen in Europe. Almost overnight, these governments embarked on an unprecedented financial experiment that is drastically altering the geopolitical or
Is Masayoshi Son the richest man you’ve never heard of?
For a few days in the early 2000s, Masayoshi Son — nicknamed Masa — was the richest man in the world. A few days later, it all came tumbling down. The founder and CEO of the Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank had failed to predict the future — an intuitive gift that first made his name as an investor, and his first billions. But even the most catastrophic losses wouldn’t stop his gambling h
Are hidden jurisdictions rewriting the rules of power?
Imagine a world where there are two maps. The regular one that everyone sees — one divided by land borders and nation states. The other, a hidden globe, made up of jurisdictions defined not by geography, but by laws that can shift, bend, or even disappear altogether. That's the vision journalist Atossa Araxia Abrahamian sets out in her new book, The Hidden Globe.
In this week's episode of the Wha
How does a secretive Catholic sect influence global finance?
When journalist Gareth Gore began investigating the collapse of Spain’s Banco Popular in 2017, he expected a predictable tale of bad investments and toxic loans. Instead, it led him to discover a vast web of hidden financial networks spread around the world, all linking back to one organization: Opus Dei. This week on Whale Hunting, Gareth joins Bradley to discuss how this secretive Catholic sect
How has Popular Front changed war reporting?
For the last five years, Popular Front has been shaking up the way many of us view reporting from conflict zones. It gives its followers an up-close-and-personal view, going inside globally reported stories like Hong Kong’s 2019 umbrella protests and narco-militias in Mexico, as well as lesser-known battlegrounds like the illicit 3D printing of firearms in Europe. Jake Hanrahan, its founder, came
What’s it like to run a TV network under the Taliban?
When the Taliban were first toppled in 2001, there was hope among some Afghans that it could mark the start of a new Afghanistan. President Bush promised the US would help construct a new, functional government – and some diaspora returned, eager to help rebuild the country. Among them was Saad Mohseni. Saad, an Afghan-Australian banker, would go on to start a radio station with his siblings in Ka
How did 1MDB cash end up in Kim Kardashian’s pockets?
On Monday, Malaysia’s High Court heard how a staggering $2.4 million made its way from the coffers of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, into the bank accounts of Kim Kardashian and Pharell Williams – all via fugitive businessman Jho Low. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope and Tom Wright get together to discuss the latest developments in the ever-evolving 1MDB saga. They explain how
Is the art market a haven for dirty money?
You’ve probably heard of blood diamonds, but what about blood antiquities?
Today, most trappings of wealth – like cash, diamonds or gold – are subject to stringent regulation. But not fine art and antiquities. Somehow, the art market has escaped the toughest rules, becoming a favored global hub for dirty money. This week on Whale Hunting, Tom Wright is joined by Tess Davis, executive director at t
From The Lever: Who Broke The Economy?
Thanks for listening to season two of Whale Hunting! The podcast will be back very soon with brand new episodes on everything from cultural racketeering to grassroots war reporting, murky offshore jurisdictions, and much more.
In the meantime, we wanted to share an episode from one of our favourite shows. It's called Lever Time and it's the flagship podcast from our friends at The Lever, a reader-
Why is London the libel capital of the world?
A furious letter from a smartly-named law firm is almost par for the course for journalists on the crime and corruption beat. From oligarchs and dictators to badly behaved billionaires, many have enlisted the help of libel lawyers to frighten off reporters and squash unfavorable stories. What’s more rare, however, is for these furious letters to materialize in an actual lawsuit. That was the unfor
Who is Li Fangwei, the Chinese phantom?
In recent years, Philipp Grüll has spent almost all his time reporting on arms deals. He’s considered something of a specialist, so when his colleague Frederik Obermaier approached him with questions about a major global arms dealer, Philipp was surprised to find he’d never heard of him. His name was Li Fangwei, and he was considered so dangerous that the FBI had put a $5m bounty on his head. Intr
How do kleptocrats and dictators launder their reputation in the US?
In the US, all American citizens have the constitutional right to lobby their representatives in Washington DC. It’s a right that has come in handy over the years as foreign powers, dictators and kleptocrats look for proxies to help them wash their reputations and push their agendas on US soil. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley dives into foreign lobbying with Casey Michel, an investigative jour
Are journalists con artists?
"Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that [...] he is a kind of confidence man, preying on people's vanity, ignorance or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse." Some fighting talk from Janet Malcolm, back in 1989. But is there truth in her words? This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley talks to Steve Fishman, the l
Betrayal, Insurgency, and Understanding Afghanistan
No nation faced more devastating consequences in the aftermath of 9/11 than Afghanistan. At least, that’s what Sune Rasmussen observed in his six years living and reporting from the country in the midst of its upheaval. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope speaks with Sune about his time in Afghanistan and his new book on the Allied invasion, 20 Years: Hope, War, and the Betrayal of an Afghan
Sudden Russian Death Syndrome
It’s a precarious time for the Russian elite. Caught up in the invasion of Ukraine and an immovable dictator, the noblesse russe have to tip-toe through economic and political conflict to survive. In the last two years, however, an increasing number have lost their footing. This week on Whale Hunting, host Bradley Hope welcomes Xenia Rakovshik, a Russian-American journalist who's been digging into
The Grab: Food Wars, Water Crises and China's Plan
In 2013, US-based Smithfield Foods – the world's largest pork producer – was bought by a Chinese firm for nearly $5 billion. But was it just a run-of-the-mill acquisition for a big Chinese company, or was there more to the story? It was a question that would send investigative reporter Nate Halverson down a rabbit hole that exposed a hidden war across the world over two vital resources: food and w
The Secret Mission to Overthrow the North Korean Regime
This week on Whale Hunting, we're bringing you a special episode from Project Brazen's archives that asks: How did an Ivy League activist become a global fugitive? Whale Hunting host Bradley Hope first met Adrian Hong in 2011. In this audio short, Bradley recounts his first meeting with Adrian, a Yale drop-out who led an underground organization working to undermine Kim Jong-un's regime by helping
Dark Web, MLMs, and a Missing Cryptoqueen
Dr Ruja Ignatova has been on the run since 2017 after orchestrating one of the biggest scams in history. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley chats to Jamie Bartlett, the author and broadcaster who brought Ruja's shocking story into the mainstream with the hit podcast The Missing Cryptoqueen. Her OneCoin scam was somewhere between a crypto rug pull and a multi-level marketing scheme that pulled in
Girl Bosses: Cartels, Narcas and Untold Stories
Think of your favorite mafia movie or narco show. Then think of its female characters. How many of them fall into the following categories? 1) long suffering wife 2) hot girlfriend 3) victim of crime. Probably a majority, right? But like any other industry, there are women out there running drug operations — even building empires — and journalist Deborah Bonello has been following their stories in
FBI Calling: Organized Crime, Encrypted Phones and Anom
Gangsters of the past may have headed to their nearest payphone to make risky calls, but modern day criminals have a much more convenient option: encrypted cellphones. The question is, who makes these phones and secure apps? In 2018, one phone app came along that was specifically marketed to criminal clientele. It was called Anom, and its mass adoption by organized crime groups around the world wo
Old Crimes, New Tech: Mixers, Crypto and Dirty Money
Like night needs day, criminals have always needed money launderers. But how is the digital revolution changing the laundering business? This week on Whale Hunting, host Bradley Hope speaks to Geoff White, author of the new book Rinsed, about the increasingly sophisticated digital skills used by money launderers around the world. Together, they discuss how the industry has embraced new technology,
Fur and Loathing: Trolls, Terrorism, and Chlorine Gas
Many journalists have that one story they just can't let drop. For Nicky Woolf, it was this one. In December 2014, at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, horror unfolded at the final night of Midwest Furfest, the world’s largest convention for Furries. There's an attack. Poisonous levels of chlorine gas sweep through the hotel corridors, nineteen people are hospitalized and hundreds are
K Street: How to Buy Friends and Influence People
Once upon a time, in a land far away, corporate interests didn't rule the political roost. It's hard to imagine today, when Big Oil, Big Tech and Big Finance (among other 'bigs') all muscle in on US democracy, grappling for the attention and affections of elected representatives. Indeed, a whole industry has sprung up to mediate this muscling, and you can find it on K Street. Home to Washington DC
China and the US: Nukes, Tech and Hot Competition
We’re back and we’re kicking off season two with a bang! This week on Whale Hunting, host Tom Wright is joined by Jane Perlez, long-time Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, and now host of the new podcast FACE OFF: The US vs China. The show dives into the defining issues of the US-China rivalry, from espionage to technology, nuclear arms and cultural exchange – because there's nothing wro
From 404 Media: The ‘Com World War’
Thanks for listening to season one of Whale Hunting! The podcast will be back very soon with brand new episodes on everything from President Xi of China to corporate lobbying in Washington, Furry subculture, female Narco bosses, and much more.
In the meantime, we wanted to share an episode from one of our favourite shows: the 404 Media podcast. The team at 404 Media report from the frontier of te
1MDB Updates: Jho Low, a Swiss Trial and Testimony in Malaysia
The consequences of Jho Low's colossal fraud continue to be felt on several continents. In Malaysia, the trial of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has entered its fifth year, with new testimony from ex-1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo. In Switzerland this month, two PetroSaudi execs, Tarik Obaid and Patrick Mahony, have insisted to a judge that their company was not a sham set up to siphon money
Covert Diplomacy: Democracy, Death Threats and Hostage Negotiations
If your loved one was kidnapped by a terror group like ISIS, your first instinct might be to scream for help from the rooftops. This, Daniel Levin says, would not be a good move. Daniel has spent years working on all kinds of conflict resolution, from freeing hostages to bringing political adversaries to the table or helping countries recover after civil war. This week on Whale Hunting, host Tom W
Sam Bankman-Fried: FTX, Regrets, and a 25 year prison sentence
Lewis A. Kaplan has been a district court judge for almost 30 years, but even he was staggered by the audacity of Sam Bankman-Fried. “When he wasn’t outright lying, he was evasive, hairsplitting, dodging questions,” Kaplan said when he handed the FTX fraudster a 25 year prison sentence last week. Zeke Faux, a reporter for Bloomberg, was there to watch the sentencing. He's met SBF a few times – bef
Bumper Harvests: Data, Privacy, and State Surveillance
We all know that advertisers are snapping up our digital data: what we buy, the websites we visit, the content we consume – even where we are at any given moment. But fewer people know that this data isn’t just being bought by companies trying to sell us things. It’s also being bought by the government and intelligence agencies. These mass data purchases (often via shadowy middlemen) is what inves
Cyber Crimes: Stuxnet, Sabotage and Digital Warfare
Imagine a digital virus that could destroy your computer. Not crash its system, but actually wreck the physical hardware – say, melt the motherboard or burn up the hard drive. It might sound dystopian, but in fact, this kind of virus was discovered in Iran in 2010. And it wasn’t just wrecking a humble laptop – it was sabotaging Iranian nuclear infrastructure. The virus (or worm) became known as St
Red Alert: Interpol, Autocrats, and a Leadership Race
Hollywood movies would have you believe Interpol is something like the world’s police force. The reality is quite different. This week on Whale Hunting, host Bradley Hope talks to Jane Bradley about what Interpol is really for, and the complicated politics at play within its ranks. Jane is the New York Times’ reporter for the UK and along with Pulitzer and Orwell prize nominations, she also holds
Ridouan Taghi: Drugs, Death, and a Mega Trial
Most of the time, drug wars happen in the shadows, in underworld deaths and disappearances. But when journalists and lawyers start getting gunned down on the streets of Amsterdam, and burning cars are crashed into newspaper offices — well, you’ve got all the makings of a European narco state. This week on Whale Hunting, host Bradley Hope sits down with Mitch Prothero to discuss the sentencing of t
Treasure Islands: Secrecy, Shell Companies, and Sunny Tax Havens
How fast can you set up a shell company? We bet Jason Sharman can do it quicker. A Cambridge academic, author, and an expert witness, Professor Sharman is also a founder of the niche sport of time-trialed shell company formation. He’s spent more than a decade studying corruption, money laundering and tax havens, visiting at least 20 so-called treasure islands during his studies. This week on Whale
Making Movies: Johnny Depp, MBS, and a Blockbuster Bromance
Picture the scene: you’re luxury glamping in the Saudi desert, the darkening sky already awash with stars above you. You’re about to enjoy all the splendour of an evening amongst the Saudi royal court when Johnny emerges from his opulent tent, acoustic guitar in hand. That, I’m afraid, has been the fate of Mohammed Bin Salman’s courtiers in recent months, ever since the pair began their budding br
Jan Marsalek: Wirecard, Lies and Bulgarian Spies
The man at the heart of the German Wirecard scandal, Jan Marsalek was once believed to be a straightforward fraudster. Recent reporting, however, has revealed him as a potential Russian intelligence asset. Dan McCrum, investigative reporter for The Financial Times, is well versed with Marsalek’s shadowy ways. Investigating Wirecard saw him tailed by private detectives and smeared with sham allegat
Dark Dubai: Sheiks, Escapes and Runaway Princesses
When the Sheik of Dubai’s daughters tried to escape their father, world powers turned a blind eye. But investigative reporter Heidi Blake was determined to document their plight. Writing for the New Yorker last year, Heidi unraveled the disturbing story of Emirati princesses Latifa and Shamsa, and how Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum crushed their bid for freedom. This week on Whale Hunting, B
Fighting Talk: Russia, Resilience, and Reporting War
Yaroslav Trofimov is a seasoned war correspondent whose career spans the tumultuous events of the early 21st century, from Iraq to Afghanistan and the frontlines in Ukraine. This week on the Whale Hunting podcast, Yaroslav joins host Tom Wright to take a deep dive into his war reporting career – including his latest work, a new book titled 'Our Enemies Will Vanish'. The book chronicles the first y
Flying Low: Data, Dictators, and Private Planes
If there’s one thing dictators and autocrats hate, it’s transparency. If they got it their way, they’d step onto private jets and vanish from all oversight. Luckily, people like Emmanuel Freudenthal are paying attention – even at 30,000 feet. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope is joined by Emmanuel, an investigative journalist and a director at Dictator Alert, a project that aims to illumina
Fat Leonard: Ports, Pay Offs, and a Prisoner Swap
Leonard Francis executed a naval corruption scheme like no other – plying admirals and officers with booze, parties and prostitutes in return for lucrative navy contracts. His story involves sexual kompromat, a daring escape to Venezuela, and now, a prisoner swap with a suspected money launderer. But how did Whale Hunting host Tom Wright discover this shocking scoop? And what was it like spending
Private Surveillance: Are you being watched?
How can journalists, activists, dissidents and even lawyers and business leaders protect themselves from the threat of private surveillance? That’s the question we’re looking to answer this week on Whale Hunting, with a special interview from our archives.
Back in 2022, Whale Hunting host Bradley Hope took a look into the hidden world of private surveillance – a world he’s gotten to know personal
Evan Gershkovich: The US reporter held in Putin’s Russia
It’s been more than nine months since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was wrongfully detained on espionage charges. Just a few weeks ago, Putin rejected an American offer for a prisoner swap to help free him. But how did we get here?
This week on Whale Hunting, we’re running a special episode on Evan’s story. This episode originally aired in May 2023, just weeks after his arrest. Un
Risky Assets: Spooks, Yachts, and Social Games
This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope is joined by Alex Finley, former CIA operations officer and author of the Victor Caro book series. While researching her third book, Victor in Trouble, she discovered a newfound interest in the superyachts of the ultrawealthy – including Russian oligarchs – and began to investigate further into this murky world. In this episode, Alex and Bradley discuss the
Spy Fiction: Lies, Life Writing, and John le Carré
This week on Whale Hunting, Tom Wright and Bradley Hope dive into the life and works of legendary spy novelist John le Carré. After le Carré's death in 2020, a new documentary and biography were released this autumn, revealing previously hidden elements of the author’s personal life. Was he really the spy he claimed to be – or were his stories of deceit and duplicity inspired by his other secrets?
Dirty Pictures: The Mafia, Stolen Art, and Mediocre Seascapes
This week on Whale Hunting, Tom Wright is joined by Simon Willis, journalist and host of new podcast, The Professor. The series unravels the story of William Veres, an art dealer charged with running an art trafficking ring linked to the Sicilian Mafia. With a 20-year prison sentence looming, Veres has a daring plan to win the favor of prosecutors – he’ll solve the coldest case in the history of a
Bad Lawyers: 1MDB, Pras Michel, and Artificial [Un]intelligence
How did the Ghetto Superstar rapper Pras Michel become locked in an international financial fraud case — and did his AI-loving lawyer stitch him up?
In the first episode of Whale Hunting, investigative reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope dive into the unbelievable true story behind the conviction of rapper Pras Michel for money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering and campaign financ
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