11–17 of 17 posts
I don't doubt this "adjustment for US dollars in 2022" was done according to best practices and inflation charts.
Doesn't make it any less ridiculous when juxtaposed with the actual purchase power like this.
One thought that came to mind while reading it is how easy it is to do the wrong thing, and how hard it is to prove or stop people from doing the the wrong thing. There's such an asymmetry.
Following the rules necessarily puts constraints and friction on your ability to act. Ignoring the rules allows you to move more nimbly.
It seems like in almost all of these cases the criminals only fail because they don't stop, which gives authorities enough chances to finally catch them.
Makes you wonder how many criminals stop at the first success and never get caught.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really? If he was a (legit) serial entrepreneur we'd be lauding him for his grit here on HN. And he almost pulled off his final "fake it till you make it" unicorn scheme too: if he had wrested control over the Bank of Portugal, he could have retroactively legitimized everything he did.
First, at least his big scheme wasn't "fake it till you make it"; it was explicitly and intentionally criminal from the beginning. Second, I doubt whether serial delusions of grandeur would be unanimously lauded on HN.
He would just need to stop there and focus on managing the central bank instead of A&M bank
Although A&M bank could have become one of the most respected investment banks given its connection.
Almost all of which have similar origins (and ongoing operations) in something lucrative and unsavory.
So you either win or you lose. He lost after being so close to winning. My lack of admonishment comes from my main observation that he could have stopped before starting A&M bank and been indistinguishable from any other well off person. He was a respected business leader at the time.
> Alves Reis had amassed more than 600,000 escudos (worth roughly $500,000 adjusted for US dollars in 2022). … Alves Reis bought a brand new Nash automobile, moved into a lavish 12-room apartment, and hired a staff of house servants I don't doubt this "adjustment for US dollars in 2022" was done according to best practices and inflation charts. Doesn't make it any less ridiculous when juxtaposed with the actual purch…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
First, at least his big scheme wasn't "fake it till you make it"; it was explicitly and intentionally criminal from the beginning. Second, I doubt whether serial delusions of grandeur would be unanimously lauded on HN.
If he got the central bank I would find it very amusing He would just need to stop there and focus on managing the central bank instead of A&M bank Although A&M bank could have become one of the most respected investment banks given its connection. Almost all of which have similar origins (and ongoing operations) in something lucrative and unsavory. So you either win or you lose. He lost after being so close to winni…
I doubt he would have succeeded nevertheless. In the end the law was changed to apply to him retroactively, which was unconstitutional (and I'm sure it's still unconstitutional on most parts of the world), and that only to give him more sentence time. He would have been removed from the bank, one way or another.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If he got the central bank I would find it very amusing He would just need to stop there and focus on managing the central bank instead of A&M bank Although A&M bank could have become one of the most respected investment banks given its connection. Almost all of which have similar origins (and ongoing operations) in something lucrative and unsavory. So you either win or you lose. He lost after being so close to winni…
He got 2/3 of the shares necessary for gaining control. The Bank of Portugal was the only one who could prosecute money forgery and it was being acquired with forged money. This guy was a hacker. I doubt he would have succeeded nevertheless. In the end the law was changed to apply to him retroactively, which was unconstitutional (and I'm sure it's still unconstitutional on most parts of the world), and that only to g…
Whether it was HSBC’s opium trading
Or JP Morgan Chase’s fraudulent securities offering for a water company that decided to operate as a bank
There are lots of examples of maneuvering towards legal legitimacy
It really just depends on where your ambitions lie and what consequences you are willing to risk.
(note: all those banks are now results of many mergers and hardly represent their oldest branches)