Feb 11, 2022

In this OODAcast, we talk with Simon Clark. Simon a British
journalist and writer. He previously worked at the Wall Street
Journal. His investigative reporting has led him to the poppy
fields of Afghanistan, the copper mines of Congo and to many banks
in the City of London. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in
2016.

Simon is the author of the “The Key Man: The True Story of How the
Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale “. The book tells
the story of Arif Naqvi and his Dubai-based private-equity firm
Abraaj and how he attracted  billions of dollars in investment
and shared the stage and social scene with the world’s global elite
in what would become one of the most audacious large scale frauds
of recent times. The book also made my
Top 10 Security, Technology, and Business book list for
2021.

We discuss the rise and fall of Arif and specifically look at the
tragedy of root causes that shifted Abraaj from the beacon of
emerging economy investments to a shell game of alleged deep
investor fraud. We also spend time discussing why Arif was able to
attract so much attention and the role transparency could have
played in discovering the fraud sooner.

Podcast Version

Simon’s Book:

The Key Man: The True Story of
How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale

Book recommendation:
Empire of Pain: The Secret
History of the Sackler Dynasty