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Robert Smith

@bondhack.ft.com
18K followers 1.7K following 1.8K posts

Financial Investigations Editor at the Financial Times. Have a tip? Email: robert.smith@ft.com / robert.smith.ft@proton.me | Signal: robert_smith_ft.55

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Reposted by Robert Smith
Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026
A 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.com
Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks
FT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 20/09/2026
Chris Spargo’s video earlier this year on British bins was such a delightful examination of a ubiquitous feature of daily life you never really consider. The new follow up where he’s invited to the bin factory is an absolute treat. Fantastic. youtu.be/hbxzhtgDf_o?...
youtu.be
Why UK bins are smashed up at the factory
YouTube video by Chris Spargo
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Emoji Caresser @lizrummy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Khoa Vu
@KhoaVuUmn
AI is finally taking over economist's job. It's all over.
Quote
Financial Times
@FT
·
19 Sep
AI chatbots give wrong answers to financial queries ‘most of the time’ 

https://ft.trib.al/KxRXFO6

11:06 am · 19 Sep 2026
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 17/09/2026
Ben Delo is many things: a crypto billionaire, a Reform mega-donor and a free speech advocate. @oilsheppard.bsky.social and I discovered he's also the landlord of a bankrupt academic after funding her failed libel claim against a Jewish artist who complained of antisemism www.ft.com/content/21aa...
ft.com
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home
Crypto billionaire Ben Delo loaned more than £300,000 to former academic Nina Power
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 17/09/2026
"Yes, humanity got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot more LinkedIn posts." alignment.openai.com/misalignment...
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 17/09/2026
Ben Delo is many things: a crypto billionaire, a Reform mega-donor and a free speech advocate. @oilsheppard.bsky.social and I discovered he's also the landlord of a bankrupt academic after funding her failed libel claim against a Jewish artist who complained of antisemism www.ft.com/content/21aa...
ft.com
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home
Crypto billionaire Ben Delo loaned more than £300,000 to former academic Nina Power
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home www.ft.com/content/21aa... via @ft Me with @bondhack.ft.com
ft.com
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home
Crypto billionaire Ben Delo loaned more than £300,000 to former academic Nina Power
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Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
For @ftweekend.com I’ve interviewed the marvellous Dianne Reeves and Branford Marsalis ahead of the release tomorrow of their new album marking the centenary of John Coltrane’s birth. www.ft.com/content/d23a...
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/09/2026
Harrowing read; inspiring ending.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/09/2026
!!!!!!! www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 13/09/2026
When did this guy change jobs from political sketchwriter to midlife crisis correspondent?
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 12/09/2026
Excellent piece of financial history writing here. And do read the comment below the line from a Salomon trader who told Buffett not to rescue them! as.ft.com/r/c4b7d680-f...
as.ft.com
The day Warren Buffett saved Salomon Brothers
‘Our name was rat poison’
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 11/09/2026
Amazing how many times Gordon Rayner of the Telegraph has front-run more critical reporters’ Reform scoops this year. Spoilers-as-a-service.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Butlins isn't what it used to be, is it? In my day your knees needed to be completely visible to the judge if you wanted to enter the contest.
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Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The media deserves plenty of criticism. We all know this. However, one of my least favorite long running lefty media critiques is "Why don't you use this specific legal language describing an uncharged criminal act in a headline?!?" Anyone with any real experience knows publications can't do that.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 08/09/2026
top-tier financial memeage from @sindap.bsky.social on Apollo www.ft.com/content/98d0...
Nathan Fielder serves a dish of nothing to illustrate the poor experiences Wall Street creditors have had negotiating with Apollo portfolio companies.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 07/09/2026
Some professional news: I have shifted into a new role at the FT as the paper’s Financial Investigations Editor. I’ll have even more scope to dig into the less salubrious nooks and corners of financial markets, while doing my best to follow the money on a broader range of subjects.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 07/09/2026
FIELDER/HOLMES is FROST/NIXON for a certain breed of ageing millenial. Couldn't be more excited. youtu.be/GGJSRFWALTI?...
youtu.be
You Can See Everything | Official Teaser HD | A24
YouTube video by A24
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Kate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 06/09/2026
Police are facing growing questions over how up to 500 masked activists dressed in black brought parts of Dover to a standstill on Saturday. Authorities have been accused of failure to act, intelligence failures and being ‘caught on the hoof’. www.ft.com/content/f244...
ft.com
Police face questions over Dover disruption caused by masked protesters
Up to 500 activists dressed in black with their faces covered brought part of UK port town to a standstill on Saturday
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 05/09/2026
How could an associate professor in divinity at Cambridge be expected to know that lying is bad? thecritic.co.uk/mone...
Ah yes, James Orr. A lot of us had been hazy about what it is exactly that associate professors in a divinity department do all day. It doesn’t seem to involve a lot of work: Orr is often to be seen at Reform events in London, which take up the whole morning even for those of us with offices down the road. Now we know he was also sipping cocktails while discussing ways in which wealthy foreigners might be able to get round the laws that ban them donating to the party.

The associate professor of divinity was filmed explaining to an undercover reporter that so long as everyone kept their mouths shut, there was no way that the authorities would ever find out. Orr spent four years as a postdoctoral fellow in theology, ethics and public life at Oxford, and it would be fascinating to know at what point he developed this theory of What the Electoral Commission Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Them. Perhaps he was off sick the day they opened the gospel of Luke: “What you have said in the dark will be h
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 04/09/2026
Amen 🙏🏻
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 04/09/2026
Wonderful FT debut from the great @willoyd.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/96a0200e-4...
as.ft.com
Nigel Farage’s merry band used to enjoy conference. Not this year
After Reform UK was hit by an undercover sting, the old jokes did not land as they used to
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 04/09/2026
One thing that I love about the film is how it captures a very distinct social setting and milieu. Lunch at Rules. G&Ts at Mark’s. A champagne reception at Oswald’s. Pints in a Shepherd Neame’s pub in Westminster. Discussion of Black Velvets over oysters by the sea.
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David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Europe's top court just ruled you can't see who owns a company without proving "legitimate interest" first We're going backward in the fight against corruption
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 03/09/2026
The Reform donor sting is one of the most extraordinary pieces of undercover reporting I’ve ever seen x.com/verbatim_med...
x.com
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Pablo Torre @pablo.show · 03/09/2026
Accountability for the wealthiest people on Earth is hard to come by. Thank you for believing in the power of independent journalism to accomplish it. (And, yes, more to come.) www.pablo.show/p/it-happened
pablo.show
It Happened.
EPISODE 423: The biggest punishment in NBA history.
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Helen Warrell @helenwarrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
James 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.com
James Orr and the gospel of the new British right
Reform’s policy head is a Cambridge theologian with an enviable contact book and a belief in ‘faith, family and flag’
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 03/09/2026
Wachtell Lipton has published their investigation on behalf of the NBA into the Clippers affair and it’s a huge vindication of Pablo’s reporting www.wlrk.com/docs/Report_...
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I try to be generous in general but this farewell to Amol Rajan is toe curling It’s way too long and to listen to it you’d think the subject was a genius who has a terminal illness, not Lebedev’s ex bagman off to set up a Substack
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Rachel Rees @rachel-rees.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
As honoured as I am to see that The Times has picked up my Chagos article practically *word for word*, including my hard-gotten quotes, I’d prefer some credit — or for everyone to read my original FT piece! free link to read the evidently enviable article below (cheaper than a Times sub!) 🌴
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Richard Brooks @rbrooks45.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
In latest @privateeyenews.bsky.social, the Teesside shambles goes on: missed payments from businessmen who’ve cashed in on regeneration for £100ms of taxpayer’s money, undocumented loans, 8 figure errors in public body accounts. Available to read online - www.private-eye.co.uk/in-the-back
private-eye.co.uk
Private Eye | Teesside: Plot twisters
THERE are dysfunctional public bodies and then there’s Lord (Ben) Houchen’s Tees Valley (TVCA) Authority and its wholly owned South Tees Development Corporation (STDC).
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 30/08/2026
There’s an extended edit of Kurosawa’s Ran going viral on X and it’s pretty heartening to see all the Gen Zs completely wowed by the visuals x.com/colditioner/...
x.com
✧˖ (@colditioner) on X
The Best Film of 1985
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QuoProQuid @quoproquid.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
techno-optimists befuddled by declining popular support for “the robot that tells you to kill yourself”, “the pervert glasses“, and “the camera network that stalks you”
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 30/08/2026
Trying to make local journalism works as a business is hard. That's why I'm proud to announce that London Centric is diversifying into the capital's ice cream trade. www.londoncentric.media/p/ice-cream-...
londoncentric.media
Intimidation, illegality and Mr Whippy: We join London’s ice cream wars
London Centric enters the ice cream trade • The capital’s soft serve vendors act like they can ignore the law • It turns out they probably can
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 26/08/2026
My 'No Fire Sale and No Fraud' shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt. www.ft.com/content/7094...
ft.com
Mark Walter’s group insists there is no ‘fire sale’ and ‘no fraud’
TWG Global hits out at ‘multipronged attacks’ on investment empire, which has stakes in high-profile sports teams
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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 17/08/2026
Every day a new horror
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 15/08/2026
Being able to write this is one of the coolest things I’ve got to do in a long time! There may even be some free clicks left on this link - indulge your inner dodgy shop owner.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/08/2026
Huge scoop from my colleagues. Wow. www.ft.com/content/47dd...
ft.com
Jane Street suffers $15bn hit after meltdown at Situational Awareness
Secretive Wall Street trading firm wrongfooted by July AI rout
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/08/2026
A lot going on in this one www.ft.com/content/e513...
ft.com
Financier fined and banned over false claims in bids for bank and football club
UK watchdog imposes £489,000 penalty on Paul Taylor over information provided in negotiations
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/08/2026
George Cottrell had a *second* more secret Polymarket account he used to place large bets on Trump winning the presidential election. My colleagues Anna Gross and @miles-johnson.bsky.social have the scoop here (gift link, first 300 clicks free) as.ft.com/r/aad2429d-c...
as.ft.com
Farage aide Cottrell had secret Polymarket account that placed bets on Trump victory
Large sums involved shine light on financial activities of one of Reform leader’s closest confidants
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/08/2026
Cracking story from the WSJ on the history of Anthropic founder Dario Amodei's wife, who — fancy that — was remarkably hard to learn anything about from Claude! www.wsj.com/tech/ai/clau...
wsj.com
Even Claude Is in the Dark About Dario Amodei’s Wife—and Her Influence at Anthropic
Cami Clark—who started what she called a “revolutionary porn company”—keeps a low profile but is a key adviser to the AI chief. Its coming IPO could raise trillions.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 13/08/2026
Fascinating situation unfolding with Mark Walter, who just sold the LA Lakers, trying to unpick the tangle of affiliated private credit investments at the insurers he controls www.ft.com/content/ab5f...
ft.com
Mark Walter’s insurers rush to unwind affiliated investments
TWG Global is seeking to refinance loans, restructure firms and bring in outside investors as prosecutors scrutinise books
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 11/08/2026
Very funny seeing just how many people are melting down on X about Anthropic introducing watermarks that identify Claude-generated text support.claude.com/en/articles/...
support.claude.com
How Claude marks AI-generated content | Claude Help Center
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 09/08/2026
Wow: Allison Pearson is obviously too modest to be overt about this, but a close reading of this tweet indicates she got into Cambridge having attended a comprehensive school. Truly grateful she shared her humble perspective on this!
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 09/08/2026
Right. After days and days deep in the culture war trenches posting about Jason Arday, I should probably resume the regular programming of dry corporate finance posting. First up, I thought the WSJ data-led hit on private credit bête noire du jour Egan-Jones was v good www.wsj.com/finance/rati...
wsj.com
Exclusive | Ratings Firm Accused of Grade Inflation Vouched for $40 Billion of Insurer Debt
Egan-Jones says it stands by the integrity and rigor of its ratings, which have been banned by a key regulator and are the focus of a lawsuit brought by former employees.
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Brendy_C @brendyc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Thar she blows Thar she blows again Please call me Ismael And I just want to sail Forget this bloody whale
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 08/08/2026
Legend of the game. Incredible she's still been performing well into her 90s and isn't even fully stepping back. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Sian Phillips, 93, to step back from acting after memory issues
Sian Phillips will step back from full-scale stage shows but continue other projects.
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Dónal Griffin @donalgriffin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
GoldenPeaks, the solar firm that borrowed $1.6b from lenders before rapidly unraveling in May, has been accused of moving tens of millions of euros to a company in Malta to shield it from creditors - otherwise known as a "fraudulent conveyance." Latest via @bloomberg.com. shorturl.at/W6cKz
shorturl.at
Debt-Fueled Solar Firm GoldenPeaks Accused of Fraudulent Lending
The collapse of solar-power developer GoldenPeaks Capital followed a number of seemingly “fraudulent” transactions between some entities, according to a court-appointed administrator overseeing the gr...
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