London Whale staff could face arrest in the US
THE FORMER supervisor of the JP Morgan trader who lost the bank more than $6bn (£3.9bn) could face arrest in the US, it emerged over the weekend.
Trader Bruno Iksil, whose trades led to the London Whale nickname, is believed to be helping the authorities with their enquiries and so will face either lesser charges or none at all.
But his ex-supervisor Javier Martin-Artajo and another former trader Julien Grout could face arrest as the investigation comes to a head.
Investigators believe Martin-Artajo told Grout to falsify records around the trading positions, hiding the extent of the problem from senior executives, according to sources speaking to the New York Times. The staff involved were fired last year and have had some bonuses clawed back.
As the year-long probe approaches its end, JP Morgan is likely to reach a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The trading losses marked a major event for the bank and its boss Jamie Dimon – previously the lender had avoided the scandals that hit many of their competitors’ reputations.
JP Morgan declined to comment on the investigation.