”On the surface, I’ve had a regular life. I go to school in North London, I play football, and I go out with my friends on the weekend. But there’s always been something hovering over my life that makes me different.”
Financial prodigies come along once in a generation. Alexander Browder might just be his.
At just 17, he founded the Global Cryptocurrency Laundering Database; a project tracking the movement of illicit funds through digital-asset markets - the first and largest of its kind.
Earlier this year, he authored a report published by the Henry Jackson Society, which alleged the use of cryptonetworks by Western-sanctioned states to circumnavigate the imposed blocks. Including Russia.
In June, he was placed on an entry-ban list by the Russian Foreign Ministry. By that measure, he is allegedly the youngest person to ever be sanctioned by the state.
Why did we invite him on?
Earlier this year, we had Alexander’s father, Sir Bill Browder, on to tell his incredible story of persecution by the Russians. Through that, we heard about Alex, and instantly knew the story wouldn’t be complete unless we spoke to him too.
The similarities are striking - two financial minds, separated by time yet joined by relation - who have made themselves enemies of the Russian state for discrete events. What’s that like? What does that do to someone, particularly of Alex’s modest age?
What did we learn?
Having seen what happened to his father and those in his orbit, nobody has had more of a front-row view of the stresses and anxieties of Russian persecution than Alex. Perhaps he might have had to face it whatever he dedicated his life to. Spending it exposing Kremlin corruption made it an absolute certainty. Why did he do it?
”My father made a career out of exposing corruption in the Kremlin, which made him some enemies there. In 2009, his lawyer - a brave man called Sergei Magnitsky, who was helping him expose the corruption - was tortured for 350 days in a Russian prison and ultimately killed there. That murder has cast a shadow over my life. So I’ve always been inspired to help stop Russian aggression.”
There are few people who have ever lived who can boast an experience like Alex’s. What is it like? How does one navigate international scrutiny at such a young age?
”There’s no guide for it. It means I can’t go there, but I never planned tdo that anyway. Really, it’s used to intimidate me. It’s a tool used by the Russians to make MPs, critics, investigators, journalists become fearful for their lives … It’s not had the intended effect. [What it says is] My work has had an effect, and they don’t want it to.”
But without the right infrastructure and motivation, Alex’s work can only go so far. With all the data ready and waiting for action, the British government still seems slow to act. Why?
”It’s a case of asymmetric information. Even the senior politicians I talk to about this have no idea what’s going on. Meanwhile, the North Koreans have whole departments dedicated to [crypto].”
Unlike a great deal of North Korea’s government, those departments are not just for show. They’re being put to use, and their efficacy is alarming. Last year, a story broke that exposed the full extent of the dictatorship’s new capabilities, and in turn inspired Alex to pull back the curtain.
