The book launch of How to Launder Money by George Cottrell and Lawrence Burke Files drew attention partly because Cottrell previously served prison time in the United States for wire fraud.
It was launched at Raffles London at The OWO with guests including Nigel Farage and members of Reform UK, where Cottrell joked that nothing in the book would help criminals and that some of his “research” was held by the FBI.
Published by Biteback, owned by Lord Ashcroft, the book is presented as a guide for law enforcement and policymakers explaining how money laundering works from an insider perspective.
The authors argue that anti-money laundering regulations are overly complex and ineffective, drawing on Burke Files’ decades in finance and Cottrell’s early exposure to the financial world before entering politics.
The introduction also describes Cottrell’s 2016 arrest by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at a Republican convention and his eight-month prison sentence related to financial misconduct allegations.
They insist the book is intended to support reform, expose weaknesses in financial systems, and highlight controversial practices such as bank “de-risking,” including the closure of Nigel Farage’s account at Coutts.
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