Sold to Finland: The Chinese Phantom. The World’s Most Dangerous Arms Dealer or: The Powerlessness of the West

The new book from the Pulitzer Prize winning journalists who uncovered the Panama Papers: „The Chinese Phantom. The World’s Most Dangerous Arms Dealer or: The Powerlessness of the West“ by Bastian Obermayer, Frederik Obermaier, Philipp Josef Grüll and Christoph Giesen. I am happy to say that Atena in Finland acquired the rights to this breath-taking lesson about the powerlessness of the West and the rise of China.

• rights sold to Finland: Atena/ Netherlands:Alfabet / Taiwan: Business Weekly / UK: under negotiation
• recommended for translation by New Books in German (Spring 23): https://www.new-books-in-german.com/recommendations/the-chinese-phantom/

Have you ever heard of Karl Lee alias Li Fangwei? No? Then you’re not alone. He’s a phantom – and considered by many to be the most dangerous man in the world.

Karl Lee plays a key role in the secret struggle between the world powers. He gives unscrupulous dictators what they need to wipe out their neighboring countries, or even to trigger a third world war. For almost two decades, intelligence agencies have been hunting for Karl Lee. The FBI has put a five-million-dollar bounty on his head. But still nobody has been able to catch him.

Now four award-winning investigative journalists have set out to find him. They follow his trail across four continents. To date, there has only been one blurry photograph of Karl Lee. But, following the routes of his deliveries and his money, the authors manage to track down his companies in China and to uncover his network of shell companies. In the course of their investigation, they get embroiled deeper and deeper in the games of international secret services and realize that Karl Lee is just a pawn in a much bigger game. 

„A thrilling and globe-spanning account of the search for the world’s most wanted man. The authors delve into the murky worlds of arms-smuggling, sanctions-busting and espionage. In their hunt for the Chinese phantom, they encounter suspicious police, atomic experts, and former spies, as well as a perplexing wall of silence from the Israeli and US governments. The book delves into international rivalries, and explores a shifting game of realpolitik featuring Beijing and Washington, Tehran and Moscow, London and Munich. Lucid, compelling, and vividly written.“ – Luke Harding, #1 New York Times bestselling author