Justificatory Narratives: The Collapse of Greensill Capital
-
Middlesex University
United Kingdom
Abstract
The collapse of Greensill Capital, a company whose self-styled owner experimented with innovative supply-chain finance, led to parliamentary inquiries in the UK during the course of 2021. This paper tells the story of the collapse and analyses the justifications mobilised by the company’s owner, Lex Greensill, in defence of his acts. His exculpatory narratives contain classical components that characterise white-collar and financial crime, but also some innovative aspects that may prefigure the future development of these types of crimes.
Except where otherwise noted, content in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Downloads
Author Biography
United KingdomProfessor Vincenzo Ruggiero is the Director of the Crime and Conflict Centre at Middlesex University, U.K. He has an envious record of distinguished achievement arising from a life-long contribution to criminology, mostly in Europe. Vincenzo’s interest in criminology began in the 1970s as a political activist who, with others, created a magazine devoted to crime and punishment spurned by prisoner’s riots. He later founded a publishing house specializing in prisoners’ writings. The writings were not only political, but included fiction and poetry. The enormity of his influence on European criminology is evidenced by his editorial board memberships – 11 in total, including internationally distinguished journals such as Capital and Class; The Open Criminology Journal; Criminologia; and Critical Criminology. Vincenzo’s contributions to criminology include 23 sole authored books on a range of topics, from Penal Abolitionism; Movements in the City, Conflict in the European Metropolis; Eurodrugs, Drug Use, Markets and Trafficking In Europe; Crime and Literature: Sociology of Deviance and Fiction and his forthcoming book on The Crimes of the Economy. Fourteen of these books are published in Italian. Many of his publications in journals have been published in multiple languages including English. In 2000 Vincenzo was attached to the United Nations crime and drugs office in Vienna, where he coordinated an international research project on transnational organised crime and trafficking in human beings. While attached to the UN he also contributed to the drafting of the UN Convention against organised crime.