Pyramid of Lies

The Prime Minister, the Banker and the Billion Pound Scandal

By: Duncan Mavin

Narrated by: Duncan Mavin

An epic true story of ambition, greed and hubris that nearly brought down the British government.

'The British version of Bad Blood . . . [but] better' – The Sunday Times

'Terrific' – The Observer, Book of the Week

In March 2021, an obscure financial technology company called Greensill Capital collapsed, going into administration. As it unravelled, a multibillion-dollar scandal emerged that would shake the very foundations of the British political system, drawing in swiss bankers, global CEOs, and world leaders, including former British Prime Minister, David Cameron. At the centre was an Australian financier named Lex Greensill.

Pyramid of Lies charts the meteoric rise and spectacular downfall of Greensill and his company. He had a simple idea – democratising supply chain finance – and disrupted a trillion dollar industry in the process. But a staid business model concealed dubious practices as Greensill made increasingly risky loans to fraudulent companies using other people’s money.

Financial journalist Duncan Mavin, who has reported on the scandal for over three years, tells the incredible story of how a former sugar-cane farmer would go on to put tens of thousands of jobs at risk and gain unfettered access to the inner workings of the British government. With a globe-circling narrative full of scandal and intrigue, Pyramid of Lies reveals how the grubby world of shadow banking really operates.

‘Forensic and riveting’ – The New Statesman

‘Meticulously researched’ – The Daily Telegraph

A good summary of Greensill. Though possibly written too soon after the Events

Overall, this is a good book. it sums up the Greensill scandal and the company. It's not "The smartest guys in the room." though it's on the same Vein.

The good: The Author is probably the best person imaginable not directly involved to have written the book. He clearly knew where the bodies were buried and couldn't give an in depth view on how things were gradually discovered to those outside the company.

The not so good:The Author does have a fairly obvious focus on showing how he was onto Greensill before it all went south. Not so much that he has an ax to grind, but there is more than a faint edge of gloating. Though without the anger of say Harry Markopolos.

The overall timeline is a bit blurry, especially in the final 1/3rd. I think the phrase "Greensill had grown to 1000 employees" about 3 times. It ends up a bit disjointed and kind of hard to follow what's happening where. in particular towards the end, where things seem to rush headlong into disaster.

I feel like a second edition of this after a bit more of the court cases have settled will be a bit clearer. Maybe this will end up as simply part 3 of 10 in a greater collection called "The Vision Fund Affairs."