Gino's Contraband: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Gabrielle O’Donovan, award-winning organisational culture and change expert and author, shares her powerful memoir - Gino’s Contraband: Guilty Until Proven Innocent (The Change Press, 2025). This gripping adaptation of the award-winning print book recounts the wrongful assumption of the UK tax authority - His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) - that Gabrielle was responsible for a shipment of over a quarter of a million contraband cigarettes and related charges, and her challenging fight to reclaim her identity and dignity and clear her good name.

With compelling narration, the book immerses listeners in O'Donovan’s emotional journey - from bureaucratic horror where she is presumed guilty, to resolute advocacy. As she traces her experience - alongside that of her suicidal friend who is caught up in the broader Loan Charge Scandal affecting tens of thousands - the intertwined stories of these two friends become a vital testimony for democratic accountability, mental health resilience, and the need for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The book ends with a chapter of recommendations for institutional reform at HMRC.

Vital for political watchdogs, legal reform advocates, tax specialists and memoir listeners seeking emotional truth.