Roberto Saviano spent a decade exposing criminal activities of the Italian Mafia, and has lived under police protection since 2006 when he publicly denounced members of a powerful mafia crime syndicate. Last Saturday, flanked by security guards, he made a rare appearance at the Hay Literary Festival. He warned the audience that financial institutions were allowing ‘criminal capitalism’ to thrive through offshore holdings. ‘If I asked you what is the most corrupt place on earth, you might tell me it’s Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, or the south of Italy, but I will tell you it’s the UK’, he said. ‘It’s not the bureaucracy, it’s not the police, it’s not the politics but what is corrupt is the financial capital. 90% of owners of capital in London have their headquarters offshore.’