Greensill, Gupta and Cameron: what went wrong | FT Film

The story of Greensill Capital's rise and fall has everything: investment banks, opaque finance, private jets, trophy mansions and the biggest British lobbying scandal in a generation, involving former prime minister David Cameron. The Financial Times charts the rise of Lex Greensill and Sanjeev Gupta and examines where it all went wrong. Read more at on.ft.com/3oerPVT
Produced, directed and edited by Daniel Garrahan
#greensill #davidcameron #gupta
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[@JA-pn4ji]

David Cameron on Nigeria: Fantastically corrupt! Nigeria on David Cameron: Hypocritically corrupt!

[@NUSKOOLMUZIK]

Perfect

[@crossbearer6453]

Beautiful 😘😘

[@brianevans2108]

@@crossbearer6453 100% totally correct.

[@Blaqrosse]

i hear you .. but 100% corruption is even worse.. come to zimbabwe

[@amusa8448]

I think this is just a case of a bunch of ashes calling kettle black while forgetting that they are still tenants on the kettle until the next wash

[@derekcooknell1145]

When I started work seventy years ago, this country supplied the world with essential capital goods: ships, aeroplanes, motor cars, etc. Working in these industries was worthwhile and fulfilling. Now all we produce are dodgy financial "products" which enrich the few at the expense of the many. Greensill Capital is a typical example.

[@stevec6427]

Britain still makes an awful lot of stuff. More than we did in the 70's. A job in engineering is a guarantee that you'll always be in work in Britain

[@jbrookshaw8438]

I have to rewatch the FT film but it looks like selling debt again. Cameron faces the parliamentary committee this afternoon.

[@derekcooknell1145]

@@jbrookshaw8438 It looks like that indeed - similar to the activities that caused the "crash" in 2007/8. Those responsible just walk away and leave others to pick up the pieces.

[@george6977]

@@stevec6427 Engineering jobs will always be dependent on the economic cycle. For guaranteed work try nursing.

[@Tsug2803]

Colonial hangover....its not possible to still be the manufacturing hub without oppressing and stealing raw materials from the countries that these products were exported to

[@TheMarmite09]

This is amazing! We need more FT documentaries please!!!

[@argh6666]

Is there any scandal the last five years that softbank is not involved in? 🤣

[@anggasurbakti8269]

Their money mostly comes from Saudi, specially prince MBS. Let these crooks swindle each other

[@hammo6641]

Very dodgy

[@AndreAndFriends]

@may shin they have not invested in CCP? Have they? Not yet?

[@malefeminist4173]

@@AndreAndFriends softbank invested in alibaba. All chinese companies have links to ccp

[@dhruvemital]

"This is a great industry but I fly Ryanair". Love the journalistic integrity behind that caption.

[@_darkbrian]

"David Cameron was worried about his legacy" - I love your SARCASM FT!!!

[@PrezidentHughes]

David Cameron's "legacy"? 🤣 Austerity, Brexit and Class wars? That isn't something people would want to remember. He's an Oxbridge Etonian. This isn't a "scandal" in the true sense. Just par for the course. Some get caught, many don't.

[@cullyx2913]

👍

[@nwedrikkozijn]

How to Steal a Country is the story of the Gupta family’s spectacular rise from flea market shoe salesmen to establishing a massive black owned business empire in South Africa. It runs as a suspenseful detective story uncovering one huge bribery scandal after another, involving the top echelons of political power and several well-known multinational corporations.

[@StuffOffYouStuff]

Lol "he talked about AI and machine learning". That word combination is so overused. Its even starting to work as a pick up line in pubs and bus stops across the country 😆 great doc. Thanks FT

[@amusa8448]

human beings love rubbish when spoken about intelligently.

[@orueom7720]

@@amusa8448 it's incredibly seductive and hilarious.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Should have used block-chain, crypto and NFT to get one more year of the scheme. 🤣🤣🤣

[@JK_Clark]

Bus stops?

[@shanetonkin2850]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s nauseating, especially because in reality, 95% of time that you hear somebody claim that something is using “AI and machine learning”, it’s actually just regular old computerised automation, the sort of thing that has been around since the 70s.

[@nbarrett100]

Reminds me of WeWork. You rent people office space, but you tell venture capitalists that you're using AI to do it and they put so much money in your mouth you can't even breathe.

[@argh6666]

Or wirecard

[@NhiNguyen-tj4co]

it's even more mind-blowing how each of them involves SoftBank. I feel like the name has become a household stable among financial failures...

[@NhiNguyen-tj4co]

@Mr Sigma Well...SoftBank is extremely big in Japan. They are kind of Japan's Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan. So it's kinda puzzling that they always involve with shady deals. In the case of Wirecard, they didn't lose anything. As soon as they announce the backing, SoftBank quickly resale the company's shares (of course, with little media coverage). Still, it's not that good to be involved with too many failures at the same time.

[@nbarrett100]

@@NhiNguyen-tj4co They ought to be called SoftBrain

[@NhiNguyen-tj4co]

@@nbarrett100 Well, tbh, I think they know that there is trouble with some failure they invested in. The whole investment with Wirecard is just for show, the one with the real loss is Deutsche Bank. They didn't own any share in Wirecard months before the company's collapse and barely told anyone about this. There was a lot of things went unnoticed so their brain might not be soft, but their ethics are definitely questionable.

[@noahthompson7559]

If you run a business and softbank likes it... change everything your doing...

[@masikoniwagaba]

This is still my favourite comment ever

[@jk3jk35]

if Credit Suisse shows up, run

[@alanfontaine586]

I was having a conversation with some old Londoners recently & they said ,the UK has always been this Corrupt, which was a shock to me

[@zeeone4492]

I’m shocked you are shocked

[@yellowdiamondrocks]

@@zeeone4492 bruh like??! 😂😂😂

[@josephbrennan370]

I'm 18 and have seen this kind of stuff for my whole short life in the UK.

[@fatimaani8346]

The curruption begins with the royal family. The Queen was in the Panama papers for instance. It's rampant throughout the elites of the UK

[@priyamohan]

Awesome analysis and storytelling. Back in 2008 it was collateralized mortgage debt, now it's collateralized supply chain debt (including nonexistent invoices). What's the bet the next one is going to be collateralized buy-now-pay-later debt? The constant theme among all this is doing business in an unsustainable way (payment cycles being too long, lending to low credit worthy people). I loved how in the video, one of the presenters raised 'why didn't they just pay suppliers sooner?!'

[@argh6666]

Don't forget that dodgy Dave was already in the dirt with Andy Coulson and Rebecca Brooks... CROOK

[@paulbird3235]

Dnnis Skinner was spot on with that, not bad for an exe- collier.

[@saqibq]

CON-servative

[@paulbird3235]

Maybe he will go and work for Rupert Murdoch with the record he now has.

[@paulbird3235]

@@saqibq CONspiracy.

[@saqibq]

@@paulbird3235 Q

[@dominicestebanrice7460]

After watching this and the Credit Suisse documentary, it seems to me that the FT is doing a better job holding these criminals to account than the SEC and FCA!

[@kianakhante7422]

Journalism at its best. Keep em coming good ole FT. I worked at the FT during 07/08 and we had just starting experimenting with online videos and podcast. Great to see such quality coming out....

[@fredfredrickson5436]

Maybe a bit too brazen, Dave. You should have stuck to normalised corruption like every other corrupt politician and just took the mainstream consultancy fees.

[@Ihatepotatos123ski]

Investors and PE firms are so easily lured by the prospect of a company using AI and Fintech they forget to do the "good old" due diligence

[@csanton3946]

Softbank left the chat.

[@laylakarimi6589]

to be honest there is nothing AI or fintech about greensill, they are just doing some old school unsecured loans

[@mossadagent1576]

@@csanton3946 Softbank: what's "Due Diligence"???

[@LucasLima-sz4kg]

@@laylakarimi6589 they run a database therefore they're tech, innovators and AI.

[@yoglaiiiii]

More videos and investigations like this please!! Really interesting and insightful. The sad thing about it however, is there's no real accountability. No one involved in this will be prosecuted or fined. They will get away with it but the workers at those factories will lose their jobs.

[@george6977]

It appears these steel works were unviable in the first place and Gupta kept these zombi companies going a bit longer by selling fake invoices to the factoring company. I expect Gupta will be prosecuted for fraud, and the factories will close.

[@juliewake4585]

It’s always the little people who suffer isn’t it?

[@MrDavey2010]

@@juliewake4585 Dead right. It’s always those who have little or nothing and who are the innocents who lose the lot. Dreadful state of affairs

[@dannywhitehouse4381]

“I call it 'Gupta's Law of Creative Anomalies’-if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” - Henry Gupta, Tomorrow Never Dies

[@atol71]

I have legalized robbery And called it relief I have run with the money I have hid like a thief Rewritten histories with armies and my crooks Invented memories I did burn all the books And I can still hear his laughter And I can still hear his song The man's too big The man's too strong

[@vbrvideoproductions4643]

The man knows his Dire Straits :)

[@sararichardson737]

Who wrote that?

[@csanton3946]

Now im convinced the reason we have bubbles in the market is because of securitization where the lender or investor who bore the risk of the underlying asset removes itself from the risk and in turn get paid for commission or pushing the product to a new set of investors Securitization simply made an investment a commodity and often times a marketing scheme

[@manimnaHusna]

Well said

[@jackywhite880]

There always seem to be people for whom - no matter how comfortable and privileged their lives - there's never such a thing as enough. Trouble is, as their greed expands, so does the number of sticky political hands wanting their share.

[@franchil1390]

If moral values were given the crédit they are due, it would have led to better economical outcomes than those we face now.

[@jackywhite880]

@@franchil1390 I agree, but ask on!y one favour. Don't ask me to hold my breath awaiting that - not good at my age.

[@CEO786]

Jacky, you’re absolutely right and I couldn’t agree more. It brings me to the Arab proverb mentioned by our Illustrious Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him and His Progeny. He said: If the son of Adam had a mountain of gold, he would only want a second mountain of gold. Nothing will fill the mouth of the son of Adam except for the dust from his own grave.

[@jackywhite880]

@@CEO786 Just a pity that religion enables abuse far more often than it prevents...

[@SuperTopnotch22]

A superb recount of what happened, definitely brings forth a lot of clarity. I'm at FT subscriber and I am loving these short films

[@fredhampton321]

The British showed the world how corruption is executed

[@a.gabbey5569]

Ironically, David Cameron described Nigeria as being fantastically corrupt.

[@eekamoose]

From the man who made Brexit possible we bring you... Excellent reporting.

[@microfarming8583]

Stop giving him so much credit, such a weak argument. 17.4 million voters made Brexit possible.

[@martinb1659]

@@microfarming8583 The 17.4 million voters were duped! A good CON has no bounds… when it comes to victims.

[@microfarming8583]

@@martinb1659 Voters get duped at every election every four years too, that's politics!

[@martinb1659]

@@microfarming8583 No I don’t! Or nothing to the size of Brexit.

[@microfarming8583]

@@martinb1659 I voted Brexit and got more than I hoped for. I wasn't duped but you claim I was, yet another keyboard warrior with a huge superiority complex.

[@SnipTifferz]

Dodgy Dave needs to be prosecuted for his involvement

[@rjrfletcher2355]

This sounds familiar to the mortgage crisis, creating debt then selling on the risk.

[@rjrfletcher2355]

Ok... I premepted them saying this.

[@sheevamatimbas4300]

I don't suppose Cameron will go to prison for this ..... nah

[@WhichDoctor1]

that's a precedent none of the current government wants to see made.

[@dotnb]

But he's lost a shed load of money and any good reputation he had.

[@WhichDoctor1]

is that how the legal system works now?

[@mohammedabdulmusawir4480]

@@dotnb that sounds more like a wild card some lawyer would put out in court as defense.smh

[@juliewake4585]

These guys ever do, do they?

[@smallfry8788]

If the FT would only enable a magazine that I could listen to (like the economist), I'd immediately resubscribe. Who has time to read page by page? Great work with some meaningful reporting FT team.

[@juliewake4585]

This is a great piece. Thanks I remember being FD of a small company fifteen years ago that used credit finance from Barclays. This is not it.

[@juliewake4585]

“If it looks too good to be true it probably is.”

[@davidwilkie9551]

Excellent presentation. That the idea of the promise of AI, not the actual accountability implied, could magic away the risk, is the same promise in "today's finance" of money management and governance expected.., but not necessarily provided. If the backing or reserves are not made available to insure the expected exchange of value, then there's the problem with all governance and lack there of. Looting ensued, not insured.

[@iamthestog]

Just when you think Tony Blair was the worst self serving Politician Dodgy Dave comes in and says hold my beer!

[@Respectedevil1]

Someone hasn't heard of any politicians outside of the west

[@zeeone4492]

You mean the war criminal Tony Blair

[@dejjal8683]

Hold my beer? I think you meant to write Hold My Sherry.

[@mortimersnerd4156]

Investigative journalism at it's best. Thanks! American Propagandist Pulp Media should move back to this type of journalism, but it's hard work and American Journos just don't understand this type of effort!

[@applecrumble8625]

This was a superb explanation

[@danielgarrahan9050]

Thank you!

[@Aryacdsc]

Fantastic journalism

[@dotnb]

Corruption, corruption, corruption.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Very informative video. Keep up the good work.

[@JA-pn4ji]

South Africa 2016: Hayibo! We've been state captured and Guptard! UK 2021: By Jove, I think we've been state captured and Guptard! Australia 2022: F*ck Me Dead, we're gonna be....

[@veloriders]

Just because they have the same surname, doesn't mean they're related..

[@hayaglamazonluxe]

They are not related. So ignorant 😒

[@jonathonjubb6626]

It's amazing what 'growth' can, and usually does hide. Especially if it's done very quickly... A good accountant can hide almost anything short-term. I know, I was one....

[@josephbrennan370]

Just use financial language waffle and it hides all from most.

[@yogi9631]

A model that relied on futures sales derivatives i.e. fake invoicing, cooking the books etc. That's one of the oldest tricks in accounting.

[@matteomarengo1337]

Great service. Congrats!

[@Telluwide]

As far as Gupta is concerned and the question of people losing their jobs. Just go back to the beginning of this story. He was only buying assets that were already past their peak and in decline. These people would have lost their jobs anyway, in fact probably much sooner had Gupta not bought these steel mills and the like. No, he's being chased down because he's probably screwed over some highly influential people along the way "some Elites". That's a major reason why this story is getting the light of day....

[@george6977]

GAM probably; they bought the illiquid, worthless notes.

[@ianh9871]

Cost to UK taxpayer £5bn. £74 each

[@AANDYG2010]

Brilliant work by the FT and these fantastic journalists.

[@danielgarrahan9050]

Thank you. You’re right, of course. This film would not exist without the original reporting from our brilliant journalists

[@jamesjames985]

Excellent journalism

[@danielgarrahan9050]

Thank you - too kind - and thanks for watching

[@ZaneConnor]

I met Lex when he was an 18 year old at High school while mentoring a YMCA youth program in Brisbane Australia, Back then he wanted to be a politician. Interesting to see what happened to him.

[@davidng2699]

Should David Cameron and the other civil servants involved spend time in the slammer

[@dhwanilvermaa]

This was truly fascinating to watch @FT thanks.

[@sour_789]

Thanks for the closed captions!

[@minhsun5441]

Greensil growing up in a small country town of Australia Bundaberg, no one in Australia want to live there. He managed to convince billionaire, PM , royal, bankers to give him the money , power and follow him. People like Greensil , we seen in Vietnam too. A golden star

[@martinobrien7110]

House of Cads .

[@daivagarsviene3455]

I’m surprised about this explanation 👍

[@Carpetlay1]

They were all bang at it. It will be interesting to see if The Old Bill get involved. They should already be investigating.

[@josephbrennan370]

Excellent video.

[@Drunken_Master]

In that chart, there is also Vladimir Delić, a business partner of Serbian Minister of Finance Siniša Mali.

[@oladelano3995]

Brilliant research.

[@jonathansmith4668]

Excellent doco FT

[@craigburgess7105]

its no more than an update on 'factoring' which I saw in action when working in the insolvency business in the early 90's. Always ended badly.

[@warpedmind6363]

A 42 million pound home “ this is no ordinary family home”. Ya don’t say

[@stevec6427]

Jacob Rees-Mogg wants to know how anyone could live in such a small house

[@marascomedywig5350]

@@stevec6427 Joe Anderson can’t believe he didn’t get a bung of the developer who built it !💵💵

[@aflavoura]

great doc

[@ndungur254]

You've got to love investigative journalists

[@joestanley250]

Knew it was a scandal as soon as I heard Softbank were involved

[@zeeone4492]

Explain

[@lonyo5377]

@@zeeone4492 WeWork. Wirecard.

[@TheAwesomePawan]

I think the British steel industry is doomed. Even Tata steel couldn’t get it straight. UK government should do some sort of import tariff plan or give grants for the setup of small scale speciality steel plant

[@MrVinnyable1]

Greensill, Wirecard, FT is on a roll! Looking forward to more investigations.

[@LucasLima-sz4kg]

If you like this kind of stuff check Patrick Boyle on finance, here on youtube

[@CarShopping101]

Masayoshi San has been bamboozled by two huge frauds now - WeWork and Greensill. He's nothing but a two bit gambler.

[@lo2740]

We can only hope that, in a near future, we will find a way to get rid of all these cockroaches which are "finance" comapnies, mostly from US and UK coincidentally.

[@Adam-ui4ef]

I would love to know what rate those Credit Suisse investors were getting on those notes. I bet it was AAA yield on a junk bond. Thanks investment banker.

[@behemoththekitty]

''David Cameron was worried about his legacy'' LMFAO

[@freeforester1717]

The involvement of Greensill in the Lochaber Smelter/SNP/Gupta funding guarantees using public funds needs to be exposed.

[@MeMe-he7xc]

so we're has all the money gone then ......mmmm!!

[@tomcolley9008]

I am just flabbergasted that these “intelligent” people can be so taken in by an obvious fraudster. The journalist at the end said “if is sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true”. What planet do these people (all of them are men it has to be pointed out) live on? It’s the political equivalent of getting an email from a friend saying he’s helping out the deposed King of Nigeria because he’d got an email from him saying he’ll get a cut of his wealth.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

It must be pointed out . . . . that many women are fooled by other sorts of scams

[@yonisali3879]

Mate i Spent most of my life being flabbergasted But ppl actions. And it is only recently that I have come to the conclusion that nobody knows what they are doing and if they do they get easily distracted by shiny objects insecurities or some miss placed malice. No better the children I tell ya At least children have excuse for their actions And as for 'intelligent' successful ppl you woulda though atlest when they standing infront mirror getting measured for their Tailor made suit that atlest they would caught glimpse of their reflection in the mirror long enough to actually say to themselves I need a real legacy to match the fine suit I am getting measured for. But no it is like all the fine wines and suits are replacement for real substance. God damn shame that all the beauty in the world is wasted on ppl that wouldn't know class and style of it was starring them in the face.

[@dankschang]

Don't all banks perform factoring. Other than banks are highly regulated, their books are being monitored closely. The only attributes that greensil don't have depositors to strengthen their Financial position, highly depend on private funders.

[@TheProfessorSocks]

Wait, what does Softbank have here? It's pinned to your board but you dont explain their involvement!

[@katrinabryce]

A very large investment in the company.

[@pondzischeme6430]

These stories really highlight the folly of investment banking... all these millions of dollars being thrown around at the whim of a select few... it would be hard to convince me this wealth wouldn't alleviate the extreme poverty we see throughout the world

[@LangfordShowcase]

Prison sentences are required.

[@ILUVBlogs1]

Great report, have you hand it to you FT - when you do good, you are good.

[@richardlumleysmith2843]

WOW!. I just cannot stop laughing - in the 1980's "Factoring crashed and exposed how easily people are manipulated!. Nothing changes in Finance!.".

[@lenong8108]

I’m here for all South Africans 🇿🇦 who saw Gupta and immediately thought “another corrupt one”🤣

[@at90degreerestaurant15]

Gupta will come out of this mess by pure luck. His steel works in Romania , Czech Republic , Macedonia and Italy made bumper profits this year and he will pay off most off the debt

[@MOV1983]

"Mr. Greensill, are you a fraudster?" It sounds like a seven year old asking an adult a question. What response was she expecting? I would laugh if it weren't for all those people losing their livelihood.

[@maluksd6537]

Oh i thought they were talking about South Africa's guptas

[@joeboyd8702]

Great upload. Thanks for sharing.

[@geraldcowen8090]

What was dodgy Dave more concerned with ..the small companies he was trying to get backing for ..or the 70 million pounds in shares it is said he was said to make with gov. Loans dodgy ok slimy also

[@lokhangw]

great video. educaitonal! scams are everywhere.

[@owl2944]

DODGY, DODGY Dave

[@stevemarriott5649]

Fintech like the derivatives that blew up the economy in 2008 both have one thing in common: opaqueness. When are our govts going to learn that banking needs to be boring and regulated.

[@lo2740]

"3 years in prison, in germany, its no joke" 🤣🤣 right, defrauding million, or billions, hundreds or thousands lost their jobs : 3 years in germany, which realistically translates to either no prison at all, or 6 month in a special priviledges detention center, or even at home. Such a pity.

[@robynbaptiste2956]

SIR Greensil, like SIR Jimmy Saville and SIR you only get knighted if you are corrupt! 🤣👍

[@Ribeirasacra]

Enron was never mentioned.

[@bigglesharrumpher4139]

I think Sanjeev Gupta and Lex Greensill simply outfoxed the establishment using cunning and by all accounts, they simply sailed close to the wind without breaking the law - so far. How else could Sanjeev built such and empire when no bank would lend to him? He had to use backstreet financing. You do what you have to. Good on him - he still has saved lots of jobs.

[@paulbird3235]

I thought Camaron had integrity, how wrong was I. Hes'e brother chip to BJ.

[@geraldaird9390]

I do not believe anyone thought DD had integrity, he is just another believer in the fantastical idea of trickle down economics, and deregulation.

[@michaellee9975]

Along side Australia

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Surely this involvement by the civil service in quid pro quo deals is nothing new for avid watchers of Yes Minister. Lex Luther reminds me of Sir Desmond Glasebrook. Sir Desmond was as clueless as Lex Greensill as to the trade he pursued merely carrying a copy of the FT for show and calling Milton Friedman Milton Keynes.

[@klaussyfuss5036]

time to make Mr.Cameron,Mr.Gupta,Mr.Greensill and all their Families responsible for the financial damage they have collectively caused ,by confiscating the valuables of the aforementioned Families .After the confiscation it would then be correct and proper to prosecute the criminal participants in this scandal, namely Lex Greensill , Sanjeev Gupta and David Cameron aka "dodgy Dave".There is little doubt that if handled correctly they all will spend some time at her Majesty's

[@NICK-uy3nl]

I wonder if Greensil had a critical influence on Cameron pulling UK out of European Union ?

[@Nimitz_oceo]

What the heck is going on at credit Suisse? Lately they look pretty lame. From greensill to Archegos, it’s been quite a spectacular failure

[@himoffthequakeroatbox4320]

The business model is called _factoring,_ my bank offered it for business accounts. That was before the internet.

[@frackooo]

they are letting D C Ramble on and on 13-5-21

[@alr2994]

An unbelievable story excellently told. However, one question: is the Brazil FT Correspondent not properly paid, having a 50p haircut and being dressed like his own grandfather ?

[@word-pictures]

Who else was brought here by the wonderful Matt Taibbi? 🙋🏽‍♂️