"Leeson joined Barings in 1989 and by 1992 was running its new futures operation in Singapore. Concealing losses in a secret "88888" error account, he hid the scale of his bets from London as deficits ballooned. By 1994, his risky "long straddle" trades were losing millions. After doubling down during the 1995 Kobe earthquake, his losses exploded, wiping out the bank."
"Working in the bank's Singapore office, he made a series of unauthorized speculative trades that ultimately lost $1.2 billion. Leeson fled to Malaysia but was caught and extradited to Singapore, where he served over four years for fraud. In 1999, he published his memoir, which was made into a 1999 film, "Rogue Trader." Leeson speaks with Business Insider about the lifestyle of bankers in Singapore, how illegal trades happen, and the early signs of fraud."
Nick Leeson is an English former derivatives trader who caused the collapse of Barings, London's oldest merchant bank, after 233 years of operation. He worked in the bank's Singapore office and made unauthorized speculative trades that ultimately lost $1.2 billion. Leeson joined Barings in 1989 and by 1992 was running its new futures operation in Singapore. He concealed losses in a secret "88888" error account and hid the scale of his bets from London as deficits ballooned. Risky "long straddle" trades lost millions by 1994, and losses exploded after the 1995 Kobe earthquake, wiping out the bank. Leeson fled, was captured, extradited to Singapore, and served over four years for fraud. He published a memoir in 1999 that became the film "Rogue Trader," now works as a speaker and adviser on risk and corporate responsibility, has been a private investigator since 2023, and hosts the "Rogue Trader" podcast.
Read at Business Insider
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