The Political Economy of Corruption and Lobbying: A Bourdieusian Insight into the UK's Greensill Scandal
Outlines
Pressures from financial markets to generate wealth, profits and growth often prompt private sector actors to engage in corruption and lobbying practices. This study draws on Bourdieu’s political economy framework to understand the UK’s Greensill scandal, which involved an ex-prime minister using his symbolic capital to lobby government officials to change Covid-19 funding rules to favour Greensill. The findings reveal how Greensill used complex structures involving SPVs, banks and trusts that operated across national jurisdictions to direct economic flows to the disadvantage of taxpayers and Credit Suisse; how private sector actors drew on their capitals to lobby and change rules; and, the privilege positions and government access provided to corporate elites in society. The findings highlight the boundaries of anti-corruption barriers, and show that the purpose of inquiries commissioned by the Parliament and government, which were neutered and flawed, were designed to provide an opportunity to actors to justify their conduct rather than penalize them, and were used by government to legimitise the implementation of reforms.
Speaker
Pro. Iqbal Khadaroo
Professor Iqbal Khadaroo has over 25 years of experience teaching and researching issues related to accountability, governance and performance management in top international universities. He was previously: professor of accounting, head of accounting department, and accounting PhD programme director at the University of Sussex; professor of accounting at United Arab Emirates University; reader in accounting and accounting PhD programme director at the University of Essex; senior lecturer in accounting and MSc Accounting and Finance programme director at Queen’s University Belfast; lecturer in accounting at Multimedia University Malaysia; Group Financial Controller at Banque Nationale de Paris Mauritius; and, auditor at Deloitte Mauritius. He earned a PhD in Accounting and a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET) from Queen's University Belfast UK, and a professional accountancy qualification from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK. His research is concerned with examining the accountability and performance implications of governance structures, with specific focus on public policies and public private partnerships. He draws on critical theory frameworks to provide insights into his interdisciplinary research. His research outputs have been published in top accounting journals, such as The British Accounting Review, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, Financial Accountability and Management Journal, Accounting Forum and Public Management Review. He has supervised 10 PhD students to completion, and acted as external examiner for accounting programmes and PhD students in top UK universities.