Spies, Yachts & Kleptocrats: Alex Finley on Russia’s Hidden Money

What bureaucracy, satire, sanctions, and superyachts reveal about intelligence, Russian power, and Western institutions.

Episode Summary

Former CIA officer, journalist, author, and Russian oligarch yacht tracker Alex Finley joins John Sipher for a wide-ranging conversation about intelligence, Russian influence, kleptocracy, and the strange places a career in national security can lead. Finley explains how her background in journalism shaped her work as a CIA reports officer, where verifying sources, understanding access, and connecting intelligence collectors with analysts were central to the job. She also reflects on the War on Terror, the disconnect she saw between policy narratives and realities on the ground, and why those experiences eventually became material for her satirical novels about the absurdities of intelligence bureaucracy.

The conversation then turns to Finley’s unlikely second career tracking Russian oligarchs’ superyachts. What began as curiosity about enormous yachts appearing in Barcelona became a window into the financial networks surrounding Russian elites. Finley explains how yachts can expose the movement of oligarch wealth; the Western banks, lawyers, businesses, and legal systems that enable it; and the challenges governments face when sanctioned assets become tied up in years of litigation. The episode closes with a broader discussion of Russian influence operations, political will in Europe, democratic institutions, and whether there are still reasons for optimism.

Guest bio

Alex Finley is a former CIA operations officer, author, journalist, and open-source researcher focused on Russian influence and kleptocracy. Initially a journalist covering national security and Washington, she later served overseas with the Agency. Finley is the author of a trilogy of satirical novels about the intelligence world and writes Rant with Alex Finley, a Substack covering national security, democracy, corruption, and politics. She has also become widely known for tracking superyachts linked to Russian oligarchs, using open-source information to examine sanctions, hidden ownership, and the financial networks surrounding Russia’s political elite.