MANHATTAN/NEW YORK (Sept 26): Fraud charges against a former HSBC Holdings Plc foreign-exchange trader are "a governmental mistake," his lawyer said, calling his actions "consistent with standard practice" in the currency market.

US prosecutors claim the trader used his "expert" skills to turn a large customer currency order into a multimillion-dollar profit for the bank.

Mark Johnson, 51, was assigned to conduct a US$3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) currency transaction, and used knowledge of the order to reap US$8 million for the bank, prosecutors say. He is accused of wire fraud and conspiracy for manipulating the pound to take advantage of inside information about client Cairn Energy Plc’s plans to sell part of its stake in an Indian subsidiary and convert the proceeds from dollars into pounds. Johnson, who no longer works for the bank, denies wrongdoing.

To continue reading,

Sign in to access this Premium article.

Subscription entitlements:

Less than $9 per month
3 Simultaneous logins across all devices
Unlimited access to latest and premium articles
Bonus unlimited access to online articles and virtual newspaper on The Edge Malaysia (single login)
Related Stories

Stay updated with Singapore corporate news stories for FREE

Follow our Telegram | Facebook