David Cameron 'made more than 7m' from Greensill Capital before firm collapsed

[Celerity]

David Cameron is reported to have made 10 million US dollars (£7.2 million) from Greensill Capital before the company collapsed in March.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19502127.david-cameron-made-7m-greensill-capital-firm-collapsed/



The former Prime Minister was revealed to have made 4.5 million dollars (£3.25 million) after cashing in shares from the company in 2019, and a salary of roughly one million dollars a year for work as a part-time adviser. The BBC’s Panorama programme has reportedly obtained a letter between the firm and the former prime minister detailing the value of his shares.

Mr Cameron is believed to have made approximately 10 million dollars before tax from Greensill over a two-and-a-half year period. His spokesman said the former PM’s finances were a private matter, but added he “deeply regrets” Greensill’s collapse. Mr Cameron began his role as an adviser to Greensill in August 2018, just over two years after he resigned as prime minister in July 2016. The firm’s founder, Lex Greensill, advised the Government during Mr Cameron’s time in No 10 but he denied he had been offered a role while in office.

Greensill provided so-called supply chain finance to businesses, which meant the finance firm would pay a company’s invoice immediately after it was sent, cutting out the usual delay which can restrict companies’ cash flows. The firm was the main financial backer to GFG Alliance – a group of companies controlled by the steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta, which borrowed around $5 billion from Greensill. But Greensill used its own cash to cover repayments GFG couldn’t afford, according to Panorama.

David Cameron lobbied the UK Government to act as a new investor for the firm, texting ministers including the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, as well as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Sheridan Westlake, and deputy Bank of England governor Sir Jon Cunliffe. The Bank of England turned Greensill down, but in June 2020 Greensill was approved as a lender under a Government scheme designed to get emergency cash to companies affected by the Covid pandemic. Greensill collapsed in March 2021, leading to a series of inquiries into Mr Cameron’s conduct and what had happened to the firm.

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