Money Men, Dan McCrum
Money Men, Dan McCrum
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Money Men
A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth

Author: Dan McCrum

Narrator: Dan McCrum

Unabridged: 13 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/16/2022

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.When investigative journalist Dan McCrum first came across Wirecard, the hot new tech company that looked poised to challenge Silicon Valley, it all looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up all over the world, they were reporting runaway growth and the CEO even wore a black turtleneck in tribute to Steve Jobs (or perhaps Elizabeth Holmes). In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market.As McCrum began to dig deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more compelling than he could have imagined: a world of short sellers and whistleblowers, pornographers and private militias, hackers and spies. Before long he realised that he wasn't the only one in pursuit. Shadowy figures were following him through the streets of London, high-flying lawyers were sending ominous letters to his boss, and he even received a criminal complaint from financial regulators. Now the race was on to prove his suspicions and clear his name.Based on inside sources and a years-long paper trail, this is the riveting inside story of the Wirecard fraud, a multi-billion-dollar house of cards that turned Germany's biggest new tech darling into an international investigation. Uncovering fake bank accounts, fake offices, fake journalists, a fake kidnapping and possibly even a fake death, McCrum offers a searing exposé that will finally reveal the truth.© Dan McCrum 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sean on July 03, 2022

Really looked forward to this book. A payment processing crime thriller with all sorts of twists and turns. The author though managed to make an incredible truth stranger than fiction story just boring. It was far too centered around the author's story and totally glossed over the actual crimes bein......more

Goodreads review by DC on November 15, 2022

I love stories of accounting scandals, especially startups. I like to understand the people who perpetuate large-scale frauds and the details of how they pull it off. So when Money Men came out, the story of the Wirecard scandal by Dan McCrum, the Financial Times journalist who broke the story, I ha......more

Goodreads review by Amit on September 07, 2022

It’s an unbelievable story. You ask yourself how come regulators, investors, board, auditors are fooled by a few and mislead for almost 20 years to run a scam of a company that actually never had a truly viable business. You see the wrong side of national pride to support a local company and it’s ma......more

Goodreads review by Ed on August 19, 2022

A spiritual successor to Bad Blood, transplanted to German Fintech. Money Men is a business book paced as a thriller, in which the reporter is also the protagonist and the story seems unbelievable, even though you know it's true. If you enjoyed the chronicle of Theranos, you'll love this. I remember......more

Goodreads review by Carter on March 29, 2024

Interesting story made boring by rambling storytelling. Felt like the author’s career story was focused on a bit too much. These types of books typically name drop quite a bit but it got overkill in this book. This book could have been 50 pages shorter and more focused on the facts and crimes in Wire......more

Quotes

Dan McCrum's deep dive into Wirecard was the financial investigation of the decade. Money Men tells the story from inside Wirecard's headquarters with entertaining drama and verve, but it also unspools the high-stakes reporting process McCrum and his colleagues carried out at the Financial Times against the odds. It instantly enters the canon of great financial crime books.

A milestone in the history of investigative journalism.

Money Men is a rip-roaring ride into the underworld of the global economy. Dan McCrum is a proper reporter: there is no threat, con trick or hangover that will stand in his way. In today's pandemic of lies, courageous journalism like this is the medicine.

This behind-the-scenes look into the years of work and the persistence that was required to topple Wirecard is nothing short of incredible. AltFi

A fantastic book. Think of Dan as a bespectacled James Bond with a keyboard instead of a gun. Steve Clapham, author of The Smart Money Method

Wirecard might still be one of Europe's most feted tech firms, were it not for a small band of sceptics - including Dan McCrum... Wirecard fought back viciously and dirtily ... Money Men should be required reading for investors and financial regulators. It is a compelling case study of a seemingly eternal truth: when a business is built on lies, there are always clues. Economist

Book of the week MoneyWeek

The culmination of years of careful investigative work... A gripping tale. Evening Standard

A thrilling, head-spinning book... Money Men hugely rewards the reader when you get the scoop alongside McCrum - you are close to punching the air... A fine testament to the importance of quality journalism. Irish Times

The best book I read this year was Money Men... It reads like a thriller as he painstakingly exposes the tissue of lies, false accounting and mythical acquisitions that lie behind the company's respectable facade... Brilliant stuff. The Tablet

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