Documentary Alex Gibney (Enron: smartest guys in the room, Go clear, The inventor) does the lord’s work with Dirty money, a Netflix docusery that explains how funny the 1% really is. The first season of the Gibney-produced series dug deep into payday loans and pharmaceutical corruption–without speaking about our chairman’s shady dealings story – and its follow-up will focus on the Wells Fargo banking scandal and the 1MDB corruption case in Malaysia, among other depressing things.
Dirty moneyThe biggest star of his second season, however, is another figure close to the president: Trump’s senior adviser. Jared Kushner. In an episode directed by Dan DiMauro and Morgan Pehme, who directed the excellent Get me Roger Stone–Dirty money will draw the curtain the Kushner clan real estate practices, which are very very bad.
Watch a trailer for the season below.
The second season of Dirty Money arrives in your queue on March 11. Below, read the synopses for each of its six episodes.
The Wagon Wheel (Directed by Dan Krauss): It’s the story of how one of the world’s most revered financial institutions, Wells Fargo, came to appreciate growth more than almost any other measure – and how this huge growth push fostered a harmful culture that led employees to commit one of the most egregious episodes of consumer fraud in U.S. history.
The Man on the Top (Directed by Zach Heinzerling): An inside look at how swindled billions from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund – known as 1MDB – were used to line the pockets of an international cast of Power players including Hollywood celebrities, Goldman Sachs executives and the highest ranking members of the Malaysian government. Includes a rare meeting with former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Slumlord Millionaire (Directed by Dan DiMauro and Morgan Pehme): Dirty Money lifts the veil on the real estate practices of President Trump’s son-in-law and close advisor Jared Kushner, with a focus on tenants who dared to expose the truth about the real estate empire by Kushner.
Dirty Gold (directed by Stephen Maing): Traces the life cycle of gold from illegal cartel mines in South America, to US financial institutions and consumer products like our cell phones, as well as lives and livelihoods devastated along the way.
Guardians, Inc. (Directed by Kyoko Miyake): The state guardianship system is a heartbreaking, little-known, and perfectly legal way to exploit vulnerable seniors. Those who, against their will, fall into guardianship may have their assets confiscated, their bank accounts frozen and even their homes confiscated, often removing them from loving families trying to help them. Dirty Money explores the brutal activity of court-imposed guardianship, a practice that often turns into lawful corruption and exploitation in desperate need of oversight and accountability.
Point Comfort (directed by Margaret Brown): Dirty Money digs deep into one of the world’s largest plastic producers – FormosaPlastics. This story is a story of wrongdoing by business, regulation, industry and science. It challenges deeper assumptions taken for granted – that our FDA is here to protect us, that the EPA knows what it regulates, and that the plastics in our lives actually make our lives easier.
