One mightily damaging backstory: 1MDB

Five years ago a $4.5bn hole in a development fund scrambled Malaysia’s politics. Now the <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/07/28/najib-razak-is-convicted-on-seven-charges-in-the-1mdb-scandal?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inquiry has claimed</a> its first scalp: that of Najib Razak, a former prime minister. We examine the grand shift of business to “<a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/07/25/banks-lose-out-to-capital-markets-when-it-comes-to-credit-provision?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shadow banks</a>”—a more innovative, if less regulated, end of the industry. And we join a <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/07/23/in-south-western-chinas-yunnan-province-mushrooms-mean-money?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mushroom-picking</a> expedition in China’s Yunnan province. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>