Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
Environmental crime including poaching and forestry is worth $2 trillion in proceeds annually. Yet law enforcement globally has yet to seriously tackle the business model driving the trade which involves a network of organised crime, corporate facilitation and corrupt regimes.
Bryan Christy is author of the novel In the Company of Killers (Putnam, April, 2021) and of the 2008 non-fiction book The Lizard King, which is currently being made into a movie. Before turning to the novel, he was head of Special Investigations for National Geographic where he led a number of award-winning criminal investigations. His education includes Penn State, Cornell, the University of Michigan Law School, and the University of Tokyo Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. In 2014, he was named National Geographic Rolex Explorer of the Year. Before becoming a professional writer, he practiced international law in Washington, DC.
The discussion was moderated by Yale Poynter Fellow Khadija Sharife, a South-Africa-based award-winning investigative journalist and senior editor for Africa at Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Sharife is the former director of the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers (PPLAAF) and currently also a board member of Finance Uncovered. She has worked with diverse forums including the Pan-African Parliament, the African Union, the OECD, and UN Environmental Program. Her work is focused on illicit financial flows, natural resources, and political economy. She is the author of “Tax Us If You Can: Africa.”
This event took place at Yale University on 16 April 2021. Opinions and statements expressed by event moderators and participants are their own personal views and do not represent the views of the university.
Environmental crime including poaching and forestry is worth $2 trillion in proceeds annually. Yet law enforcement globally has yet to seriously tackle the business model driving the trade which involves a network of organised crime, corporate facilitation and corrupt regimes.
Bryan Christy is author of the novel In the Company of Killers (Putnam, April, 2021) and of the 2008 non-fiction book The Lizard King, which is currently being made into a movie. Before turning to the novel, he was head of Special Investigations for National Geographic where he led a number of award-winning criminal investigations. His education includes Penn State, Cornell, the University of Michigan Law School, and the University of Tokyo Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. In 2014, he was named National Geographic Rolex Explorer of the Year. Before becoming a professional writer, he practiced international law in Washington, DC.
The discussion was moderated by Yale Poynter Fellow Khadija Sharife, a South-Africa-based award-winning investigative journalist and senior editor for Africa at Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Sharife is the former director of the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers (PPLAAF) and currently also a board member of Finance Uncovered. She has worked with diverse forums including the Pan-African Parliament, the African Union, the OECD, and UN Environmental Program. Her work is focused on illicit financial flows, natural resources, and political economy. She is the author of “Tax Us If You Can: Africa.”
This event took place at Yale University on 16 April 2021. Opinions and statements expressed by event moderators and participants are their own personal views and do not represent the views of the university.
