Last modified on Tue 4 May 2021 12.20 EDT The failure of Greensill Capital will cost UK taxpayers up to £5bn, a parliamentary inquiry has heard, as one expert said the lenderâs business model was âas close to fraud as you could imagineâ. The former City minister Paul Myners said the government could end up footing the bill of unpaid state-backed loans and social support for thousands of steelworkers whose jobs are currently at risk at one of Greensillâs largest borrowers, Liberty Steel, owned by metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta. The estimate was shared during the Treasury select committeeâs first fact-gathering session as part of its inquiry into Greensillâs collapse. It is one of four parliamentary inquiries into the firmâs failure, which has sparked concerns about undeclared government lobbying by former officials â following David Cameronâs attempts to influence ministers on Greensillâs behalf â and the lack of regulation of supply chain finance.