Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 27/09/2026He‘s done something similar before: Zero Days used a CGI person as a composite character for whistleblowers he couldn’t show 050
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 26/09/2026Honestly, he says out loud he wants the restoration of older borders, based on his very odd revanchist nationalism. No-one, not even him, thinks 25 British soldiers with half a dozen challengers in Estonia are a prelude to an invasion. 150
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 26/09/2026It’s akin, too, to the “Moscow is right to be upset we put soldiers in Estonia”. Does anyone think we plan to invade Argentina/Russia? 3450
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 24/09/2026Russia’s state oil giant is a key pillar in the Kremlin’s industrial money-laundering system —- and uses it itself to get its own cash back inside Russia. 015
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 23/09/2026Thanks! I thought you’d appreciate us doing the other side of the balance sheet! 011
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 23/09/2026This is a big deal for two big reasons - first, it helps answer some of the question of what Rosneft was doing with its foreign earnings, and second, it tells us how A7 was able to keep getting its hands on hard currency. 083
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 23/09/2026Round 2! Billions of dollars of Rosneft‘s foreign earnings have been ploughed into making A7, the Kremlin’s favourite money-laundering scheme, work. www.ft.com/content/fb42...ft.comRosneft billions fed Kremlin-backed money laundering networkFT investigation shows the state oil group’s hard currency was at heart of Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions 2138
Reposted by Chris CookChris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...ft.comKremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banksFT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7 5275164
Reposted by Chris CookTom Hannen @tomhannen.ft.com · 21/09/2026Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks - FT video produced by me, written by @chriscook.news & @chassnews.bsky.social FT story (1st 300 clicks free): as.ft.com/r/c4fd2c08-5... 05945
Reposted by Chris CookTuffy @smtuffy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Great reminder that, for all the advances with crypto, nothing beats old fashioned money laundering through the banking system 13218
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026The leak we have runs up to August 2025. The OSC did a brilliant report on a (smaller) leak covering the same time period, which also has a great title. www.opensourcecentre.org/research/the...opensourcecentre.orgThe Big ShorOSC and TRM Labs reveal how the Kremlin-backed A7 Network used the international correspondent banking system and Kyrgyzstan to likely move billions of dollars of Russian payments through the global f... 1425
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026SWIFT relies on sending banks to do the police work. The new leak shows us how the Kyrgyz banks, first, then UAE banks (esp First Abu Dhabi) let entities move billions into the traditional interbank system. FAB let A7 open accounts and send $1.8bn (They say they've spotted and stopped this). 25115
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...ft.comKremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banksFT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7 5275164
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 19/09/2026you really have to admire Spurs’ commitment to being the funniest club in the premier league 0263
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026It turns out: campaigners are On This. They’ve highlighted a second case of a regulated donee receiving cash from a memecoin fundraiser (whose real provenance is unknown) bsky.app/profile/timp... 050
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026Not straightforward, this: you could ban the sale of crypto assets by registered entities, but - in the one case we’ve got in the UK - the sale was arranged by a third party who then gave the money to a renowned pint-sized agitator. 120
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026…CookCoins, sells them for a pound a throw to a pal occupying Crimea and - so long as I was willing to argue it was a commercial operation akin to other memecoins - I wouldn’t have to disclose the donors. 462
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026Conversely: (b) we have already seen memecoins used to fund anti-democratic movements in the UK, and it’s not clear to me that a sale of a memecoin would count as a “donation” that requires registration rather than proceeds of the commercial activity of the party. So I could issue a billion… 142
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 14/09/2026I think some of the stuff about cryptoassets being used for political donations is a bit muddled: a) there’s no reason a payment in crypto is hard to handle. You can easily make systems that only accept payments *after* a KYC process. 232
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 04/09/2026www.barkingmad.uk.com/franchising/ I’m sure I’ve heard people say you’re Barking Mad materialbarkingmad.uk.comStart Your Own BusinessIf you've been considering careers with dogs recently, how about starting your own lifestyle business? Learn more about Barking Mad. 010
Reposted by Chris CookHelen Warrell @helenwarrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026James Orr: Reform’s head of policy, Cambridge theologian, architect of the new British right. Our profile for @ftweekend.com looks at his links to the Maga movement, Silicon Valley & European populists, and his life as a Cambridge lecturer with @ramshodgson.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c2d0...ft.comJames Orr and the gospel of the new British rightReform’s policy head is a Cambridge theologian with an enviable contact book and a belief in ‘faith, family and flag’ 129357
Reposted by Chris CookChris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026A big shock from Malta: the jury acquits the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia: as.ft.com/r/977679ea-7...as.ft.comBusinessman acquitted in Maltese journalist’s murder trialDaphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017 16661
Reposted by Chris CookSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 02/09/2026A Death in Malta is her son's vg account of the murder, the context & the family's canpaign for justice. This made our Orwell prize konglist when I was on the judging panel a couple of yesrs ago www.penguin.co.uk/books/447844...penguin.co.ukA Death in Malta'A murdered mother's fight for truth and justice lives on through the words of her youngest son' Angelina Jolie 'A work of rare vividness and authority, devastatingly told' Financial Times When Paul... 1148
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026A big shock from Malta: the jury acquits the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia: as.ft.com/r/977679ea-7...as.ft.comBusinessman acquitted in Maltese journalist’s murder trialDaphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017 16661
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026If you don’t use him, it’s yet MORE prejudice against the ALWAYS FORGOTTEN and NEGLECTED South-of-the-Euston-Road citizens 050
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 02/09/2026For your local art choices: Paul Nash lived on Judd Street, and painted lots from his flat overlooking Camden (St Pancras) Town Hall and the Midland Hotel. www.wikiart.org/en/paul-nash...wikiart.orgSt Pancras Lilies, 1927 - Paul Nash - WikiArt.org‘St Pancras Lilies’ was created in 1927 by Paul Nash in Expressionism style. Find more prominent pieces of flower painting at Wikiart.org – best visual art database. 150
Reposted by Chris CookChristabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Just quietly noting that the non-Farage vote in Clacton (36% x 44% turnout) is comfortably higher than the 10% of the constituency electorate needed for a petition to trigger another by-election if Farage is suspended from the Commons for 10 days... 28534
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 13/08/2026in the modern era and in broad terms, i'd agree: adam smith was good on the appalling quality of ~teaching~ at Oxford when he was there (between Newton and Wordsworth): www.marxists.org/reference/ar... )marxists.orgWealth of Nations — Bk 5 Chpt 01 (Part III) 090
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 13/08/2026Thoughts with the education corrs on their big day, which has fallen this year into a deep domestic news hole. 150
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 10/08/2026it's extremely bad news for football if clubs now feel obliged to police every banner held up by every group of fans in case someone is rude about someone somewhere. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...bbc.co.ukEvangelos Marinakis: Nottingham Forest owner sues Crystal Palace over fan bannerEvangelos Marinakis is suing Crystal Palace for a banner unfurled by their fans depicting the Nottingham Forest owner holding a gun to midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White's head. 280
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 30/07/2026You should also look at the distances involved: if you live in north Croydon, your loved ones can end up out in the space they (sensibly) bought decades ago outside the borough’s southern edge 000
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 30/07/2026the green areas here also have issues with, for example, getting space in the same cemeteries as family members — and basic upkeep. lots of municipal cemeteries are extremely ratty. 455
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 28/07/2026as a general rule, delaying specialisation to 16 + the GCSE being well specified exams are positive feature of England’s system 69713
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 27/07/2026I feel like my conclusion of the excellent Ed Watts history of Rome you recommended lately was "how on earth did they survive while also only managing reasonably competent management for about 6 hours over two millennia". 0111
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 22/07/2026It used to be the case that the US and Israel were the only two states where regional income and school spending were positively correlated (but think it may not be longer be) 120
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/07/2026I think you’ll find the losing semi-finalists aren’t “out”, they’re in the very important bronze final. 140
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 19/07/2026That’s not parochial by Mayo standards — he’s implicitly acknowledging other counties 120
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 15/07/2026My main takeaway is universities are surprisingly under-engaged with our military technology sector, despite it being a major part of the development of a lot of our top engineering faculties. 1110
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 15/07/2026Another £40mn contract is doing a lot of work zhuzhing the numbers for a lot of institutions. But it closed in 2022 and... is this... military? gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref...gtr.ukri.orgGateway to Research (GtR) - Explore publicly funded researchThe Gateway to Research: UKRI portal onto publically funded research 100
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 15/07/2026i was not aware of this group on getting the military out of british universites, but... if you take this contract, they've ascribed the full £77mn value to *all 20* universities participating (it's listed as £77mn on each individual HEI page). demilitariseeducation.com/data/partner...demilitariseeducation.comDemilitarise Education | dED 130