Britain is most corrupt country on Earth, says Mafia expert Roberto Saviano
Mafia expert Robert Saviano calls Britain the most corrupt country in the world
He has spent more than a decade exposing the murderous criminal underworld of the Italian Mafia, but journalist Roberto Saviano believes that Britain is the most corrupt country in the world.
Robert Saviano has spent more than a decade exposing the underworld of Italian mafia murders, but he believes that Britain is the most corrupt country in the world.
The author of international bestsellers Gomorra and ZeroZeroZero, has lived under police protection since publically denouncing members of the Camorra, a powerful Neopolitan organised crime syndicate, in 2006.
Author of international bestsellers "Gomorrah" and "Zero Zero Zero" survived under police protection after publicly condemning members of the Gomorrah - a powerful Neopolitan criminal organization in 2006 .
On Saturday he made a rare historic appearance at the Hay Literary Festival flanked by several security guards.
On Saturday, under the protection of several security officers, Sanovia made a rare appearance at the Hay Literary Festival.
He warned the audience in Hay-on-Wye that financial institutions were allowing 'criminal capitalism' to thrive through offshore holdings. And he warned that a vote to leave the European Union would leave Britain even more exposed to the organised crime.
He warned his audience in the small town of Hay that financial institutions were condoning "criminal capitalists" wantonly taking offshore stakes. He also warned that choosing to leave the EU would expose Britain to more organised crime.
"If I asked you what is the most corrupt place on Earth you might tell me well it's Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, the South of Italy and I will tell you it's the UK," he said.
He said, "If I ask you, can you tell me where is the most corrupt place in the world? You might say Afghanistan, or it might be Greece, Niagara, southern Italy, and I'd tell you it's actually England. "
“It's not the bureaucracy, it's not the police, it's not the politics but what is corrupt is the financial capital. 90 per cent of the owners of capital in London have their headquarters offshore.
It's not the bureaucracy, it's not the police, it's not politics, it's financial capital. Ninety percent of London's asset owners have their headquarters overseas.
"Jersey and the Cayman's are the access gates to criminal capital in Europe and the UK is the country that allows it. That is why it is important why it is so crucial for me to be here today and to talk to you because I want to tell you , this is about you, this is about your life, this is about your government.
Both Jersey and the Cayman Islands are gateways to Europe's criminal assets, and the UK is very "enlightened" about it, letting it go. That's why I'm here to talk to you today about something so important. Because I want to tell you, it's about you, it's about your life, it's about your government.
“Leaving the EU means allowing this to take place. It means allowing the Qatari societies, the Mexican cartels, the Russia Mafia to gain even more power and HSBC has paid £2 billion Euros in fines to the US government, because it confessed that it had laundered money coming from the cartels and the Iranian companies. We have proof, we have evidence.”
“Leaving the EU means condoning criminal assets. This gives more power to the cartel society, the Mexican syndicate, the Russian mafia, and HSBC (HSBC) has paid the US government €2 billion in fines for admitting Laundered money for cartels (international monopolies) and Iranian businesses. We have evidence to prove it.”
Saviano first started writing about organised crime in Italy in the early 2000s following the death of his local priest who had written an essay criticising the dealings of the Camorra.
A local priest in Naples wrote an article accusing Cumora of insider trading, and after his death, in the early 2000s, Saviano first began reporting on gang crimes in Italy.
After publishing Gomorra, a non-fiction novel which named members of the clan and exposed its business connections and criminal activity, his life was threatened and a plot put in place to eliminate him and his police escort with a bomb.
As a non-fiction novel, the author named this massive gang member in the book "Gomorrah", and made no secret of linking business ties and criminal activities. After the book was published, the author's Life was threatened, and there was a conspiracy to kill him and the police escorting him with a bomb.
The death threats led to a public outcry from fellow writers, including six nobel laureates including Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev and Orphan Pamuk, who warned the Camorra were becoming a threat against security and public order.
Threats of death have led to a number of people including Desmond R. Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev and Orhan A joint public protest by six Nobel Prize winners, including Pamuk, warned people that Kemora would threaten social and public order.
Signatures were also collected on the web site of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica calling for the government to protect him.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica even solicited signatures on its website asking the government to protect him.
Saviano said: “I was 26 years old when I got myself into this situation and I could not imagine that it would end like this because many books have been written on the Mafia, but it was my book that made them so angry.
Saviano said: "When I put myself in this situation, I was only 26 and I couldn't imagine it all ending like this, just because of the many books on the mafia, this one was the only one that allowed them to So angry."
“I was telling real facts, I was naming names. My life is unique. I am followed by two bullet proofed cars and by more than five officers and that brings about a feeling of guilt sometimes because you exposed yourself too much, you were not cautious enough.
"I'm telling a true story, I'm even naming names. My life is unique. Two bulletproof cars and more than five officers are always behind me, which can sometimes feel guilty because Even though you're careful enough, you expose yourself too much."
“But the freedom of expression that you enjoy is not to be taken for granted and there is always somebody who fights for it and if it's not you it's somebody else in your place.
"But freedom of speech is not something you can enjoy. You must know that there are always people fighting for you for this freedom, and you have to put yourself in the shoes of others.
“I consider myself lucky that I was not killed. When you start telling these stories you know that your life is at stake, you know you might be killed, but what scares you the most is defamation.”
"I'm lucky I didn't get killed, when you start telling a story that you know, you know it's all betting your life, you know you might get killed, but the real intimidation is slander."
Journalist and author Ed Vulliamy, who chaired the session, added: “We want the people to try and understand the phenomenon of organised crime in a different light which delegitimizes the system.
Our reporter Ed. Freeman added: "We hope that people will try to understand the phenomenon of organized crime being legitimized in a way from another angle."
“The people about whom Roberto writes use and abuse this word honour which is of course a complete inversion and the reason why this is such a historic event is that every day Roberto lives, the fact that he is here, is a dishonour to them. "
"Robert writes about people who abuse the world's honor. That's why every day of Robert's life seems like a historical event, when in fact he's still alive as an insult to these people."
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