He was the scion of a wealthy German textiles empire, an extravagantly successful day trader and a respected film producer. But he was also the cruellest of fraudsters. Over a period of 12 years, Felix Vossen conned his best friends and closest colleagues out of tens of millions of pounds. When he ran out of friends to defraud he stole from his family.

His Midas-like ability to spot the rising stars of the stock markets disguised the fact that he was a pathological liar whose investment empire was built on a giant deceit. Empathy and trust were the tools he used to lure and then betray his victims.

Mr Charming charts the double life of Vossen and captures the drama of the international manhunt as his fraud collapses and he goes on the run.

Why did Vossen’s victims put their money into something that was too good to be true? But more importantly, how did his banks and the financial watchdogs allow him to get away with it for so long?

• Author is a co-founder the Independent newspaper and winner of Business Journalist of the Year.
• A remarkable true story of gullibility and deception from the pre-Crash 'greed is good' era.
• For readers of The Smartest Guys in the Room, Barbarians at the Gate, and The Wolf of Wall Street.