Originally Posted by
repechage
The subtext is that Grant and Paul Manafort have something in common- no more bankers to bail them out. And Grant cannot offer a Sec. Of The Army position either.
Bicycles are near adventure capitalism. The gift card play is novel, I would take it seriously if it included an "interest" component of higher face value upon redemption.
Grant needs an investor, one with more sophisticated business skills. I see an asset sale down the road.
From what I've read, Manafort was clearly defrauding bankers, laundering money more or less stolen (not delivering what he promised) from Russian-backed Ukraine political interests in shady deals by funneling it though his domestic real estate investments.
As I understand it, Grant's main crime is attempting to sell bicycles and accessories, and despite his rather high prices, not consistently making enough profit to pay all the bills.
So yeah, same deal, you pretty much nailed it.
