Published September 23 2026. How do you tell if an economy is actually working? Most economics classes point to controlled inflation, steady growth, or low unemployment - but what if the level of financial fraud is the real hidden indicator? Robin Wigglesworth and Gillian Tett talk to Dan Davies, financial historian and author of Lying for Money, to hear about some of the wildest and most shocking frauds in history. From 'the great salad oil swindle,' which almost brought down American Express to a fake gold mine in Borneo that ended with a mysterious fall from a helicopter.

Together they explore how trust drives modern economies - and how fraudsters continuously exploit it. Further reading: Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World by Dan Davies To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated You Tube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTThe Story Of Money Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth Senior Producer: Laurence Knight Producer: Michela Tindera Executive producers: Kate Ford and Manuela Saragosa Video producer: Michael Saliba Original music and sound design: Breen Turner Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis Podcast development: Laura Clarke FT global head of audio: Flo Phillips Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at [email protected]Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com View our accessibility guide.