The trial of Kweku Adoboli – Ghanaian born ex-trader for UBS bank in London – has started, with the swearing in of the jury at Southwark Crown Court in London yesterday. Adoboli is charged with causing the Swiss bank to lose $ 2.3 billion through his unauthorised activities – making this the biggest banking case ever heard in London.
Adoboli, 32, worked on the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) desk, and thereafter on the global synthetic equities desk, part of the investment banking branch of the UBS’ operation in London. It is alleged that during the period of 1st October 2008 to 1st June 2011 Adoboli personally caused the bank a loss of $2.3 billion through his fraudulent practices; as such he is facing four charges: two for fraud and two for falsified accounting over the course of the specified – almost three-year – time-frame.
It was on 15th September 2011 that UBS made a public announcement that it had “discovered a loss due to unauthorised trading”. Following the announcement, Adoboli was arrested the same day, and only nine days later UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel resigned his position. Gruebel had in fact been brought out of retirement by the bank in 2009, and charged with the responsibility of steering the bank through the financial crisis. Having suffered difficulties during 2008, these new losses struck a substantial blow to the banking titan, which was struggling to regain momentum following the financial crisis.
Appearing at the initial hearing on his arrest last September, Adoboli spoke up to deny all the charges. The judge, Alistair McCreath, nonetheless remanded Adoboli in custody pending his trial. Adoboli has thus spent most of the run-up to his trial in Wandsworth prison in London, although he was released on bail nine months after he had been remanded, in June this year.
Arriving at the court yesterday, Adoboli now faces an estimated eight weeks of trial before he will discover his fate. Yesterday the court had to deal with procedural requirements, and the judge selected the jurors who are to decide Adoboli’s fate. Judge Brian Keith selected and swore in 12 jurors, with four back-up jurors also to be available if needs-be throughout the trial. The judge told the jurors to ignore the media coverage of the high-profile case, and not to be tempted to do their own research. He instructed the jury: “It is very important that you keep an open mind…particularly so in a case like this, which is likely to attract some publicity”.
The trial will begin in substance on Friday, with prosecutor Sasha Wass outlining the case against Adoboli. The first witness is expected to appear before the court on Monday.
If found guilty, Adoboli may receive a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Image via guardian.co.uk
