UBS trader fooled firm’s regulators, court told

An alleged rogue trader accused of Britain’s biggest banking fraud fooled his bank’s own regulators into believing there was an innocent explanation for serious irregularities in his deals, a court heard.

Kweku Adoboli, 32, who is accused of gambling away £1.4bn while working as a trader for UBS, was questioned after back-office staff spotted billions in incorrectly booked trades weeks before he was arrested. Jurors at Southwark crown court heard Adoboli told compliance staff that he failed to properly book deals to save time because he was short-staffed and “really fucking busy”.

He even managed to convince accountants, but was unable to provide figures to back it up, the court heard.

Three weeks later he sent a “bombshell” email to colleagues admitting the trades were “off-book,” or “fake”. He said he had hoped to make his losses back, but had “clearly failed”, adding: “I am deeply sorry to have left this mess for everyone and to have put … my colleagues at risk.”

SOURCE: Guardian