Octopus

The Secret Market and the World's Wildest Con

Guy Lawson

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780741239
• Year: 2012

Octopus is a real-life thriller that tells the inside story of a GBP300 million hedge fund fraud and the wild-goose chase through Europe by its drug-fuelled manager for a lucrative "secret market" beneath the financial market we all know. Sam Israel was a man who seemed to have it all. Born into one of the world's richest families, he founded his own hedge fund, promising his investors guaranteed profits. But, after suffering devastating losses and faking tax returns, Israel knew his real performance would soon be discovered. So when a former CIA-operative turned conman told him about a "secret market" run by the Federal Reserve, Israel bet his last $150 million of other people's money on a chance to make it all back. So began his crazy year-long adventure in a world populated by clandestine bankers, conspiracy theories, and gun-toting spooks issuing cryptic warnings about a mysterious cabal known only as the Octopus.

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Epigraph page
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• Introduction
• CHAPTER ONE: Trust
• CHAPTER TWO: Upstairs
• CHAPTER THREE: Front-Running
• CHAPTER FOUR: Other People’s Money
• CHAPTER FIVE: The Problem
• CHAPTER SIX: Boy in the Bubble
• CHAPTER SEVEN: Scumbaggery
• CHAPTER EIGHT: The Trump House
• CHAPTER NINE: Adventure Capital
• CHAPTER TEN: Octopus
• CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Shadow Market
• CHAPTER TWELVE: The Big Lie
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN: As Real as Rain
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Exploding Heads
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Deliverance
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Snake Pit
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Yamashita’s Gold
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Redemption
• CHAPTER NINETEEN: The Afterlife
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgments
• Index