In this episode, David investigates financial crime through the story of one of Scotland’s most prolific investment fraudsters – crooked Aberdeen financial advisor Alistair Greig. Greig gained the trust of numerous well-off people in the city, and convinced many to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds over several years in investments that he claimed were safe, but which turned out to be fake. In court, the total amount he stole was put at £13m. It was a classic Ponzi scheme of the type more familiar from the US and fraudsters such as Bernie Madoff. David travels to Aberdeen to explore the story and meets journalist Dale Haslam, who carried out a detailed investigation into the case. David finds out how it was possible for Greig to hoodwink and rob so many people for so long, and how Aberdeen’s close-knit community made it possible for him to gain their trust.

In the studio, David interviews Dale in more detail about the twists and turns of this fraud, including the fact that Greig was blatantly flaunting his wealth while decimating his clients’ life savings. David also speaks to Colin Stewart, the son of one couple who fell victim to Greig’s scam, losing hundreds of thousands. Colin has been helping in the fight for compensation for all the victims. He explains in depth the human, emotional and financial cost of falling foul of such a ruthless fraudster.

David also speaks to criminologist and forensic linguist Dr Elisabeth Carter from Kingston University. Elisabeth is an expert on the language used by scammers to pull victims into their traps. She reveals how clever they can be, and how difficult it can be for anyone to spot that they are being played, lied to and ripped off. Show less