Lex Greensill Capital story, Pyramid of Lies, sells out within hours in Bundaberg

New details of the infamous Lex Greensill Capital collapse have come to light through a sellout book that alleges links to Vladimir Putin, David Cameron and global special forces. Take an inside look.

A new book outlining the collapse of Greensill Capital has sold out within hours of being stocked at a Bundaberg bookstore.

Dymocks Bundaberg confirmed the book sold out within 24 hours of hitting their shelves after the first shipment was released by publisher, Pan Macmillan.

According to Pan Macmillan, Pyramid of Lies, written by international financial journalist Duncan Mavin, tells the story of an intricate financial web created by Bundaberg farmer, Lex Greensill after making “increasingly risky loans to fraudulent companies using other people’s money”.

“Pyramid of Lies is the true story of Lex Greensill, the Australian farmer who became a hi-flying billionaire banker before crashing back down to earth, exposing a tangled network of flawed financiers, politicians and industrialists,” the Pan Macmillan website reads.

From humble farmer to billionaire financier speaking about supply chains with Prince Charles, Lex Greensill's financial collapse has been revealed in a book by an international finance journalist.

“Lex Greensill had a simple, billion-dollar idea - democratising supply chain finance. Suppliers want to get their invoices paid as soon as possible. Companies want to hold off as long as they can. Greensill bridged the two, it’s mundane, boring even, but he saw an opportunity to profit.

“However, margins are thin and Lex, ever the risk taker, made lucrative loans with other people’s money: to a Russian cargo plane linked to Vladimir Putin, to former Special Forces who ran a private army, and crucially to companies that were fraudulent or had no revenue.

“When the company finally collapsed it exposed the revolving door between Westminster and big business and how David Cameron was allowed to lobby ministers for cash that would save Greensill‘s doomed business. Instead, Credit Suisse and Japan’s SoftBank are nursing billions of dollars in losses, a German bank is under criminal investigation, and thousands of jobs are at risk.

“It is a story of greed and ambition that shines a light on the murky intersection between politics and business, where lavish fortunes can be made and lost.”

The Greensill family have felt the ripple affects of Lex’s financial failures. L-R brothers Peter, Lex and Andrew Greensill.

Mr Greensill has made multiple headlines over the years.

In May 2021, he testified before British Parliament, saying he was not a fraudster and that he bore “complete responsibility” for the collapse of his finance group Greensill Capital.

The following month, the Greensill family empire felt the brunt of the collapse, after a Federal Court ordered the Peter Greensill family trust pay tax on $58 million paid to Lex Greensill after the Australian Taxation Office ordered tax be paid on the gains.

Lex Greensill claimed the Peter Greensill Family Trust sold shares in the company between 2015 and 2017 and paid 100 per cent of the gains to London-based Lex.

Mr Greensill tried to argue that classed him as a foreign resident, but the federal court ruled in the ATO’s favour.

In June 2022, another piece of the Greensill empire, Qunaba-based Greensill Capital Securities (Australia) Pty Ltd, collapsed, despite at one point being worth more than $6 billion.

The first wholesale shipment of The Pyramid of Lies is believed to have sold out within hours and a second shipment is not expected until next week.