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Rogue trader Nick Leeson contemplated paying fellow inmates to kill him



The man who became a symbol of the excess, macho culture and greed of stock market trading has admitted he considered paying a hitman to murder him in prison.

'Rogue Trader' Nick Leeson, in an interview with CNN, spoke of the dark period of his life in a German cell.


Leeson's risk-taking deals led to an £827million loss and single-handedly destroyed the centuries-old Barings Bank.

A Watford schoolboy-turned-City whizzkid, Mr Leeson's early career was a success and he was promoted within the bank, but things began to unravel when he started making losses while trading in Singapore and used a secret account to hide them.

In 1995 he was finally arrested in Germany, aged just 28, after going on the run when his financial mismanagement was discovered and was imprisoned while awaiting extradition to Singapore.

He was surrounded by arms dealers, sex offenders, drug dealers and, he discovered, Italian men with 'connections' - an ice cream vendor, Luigi, and a 'well-dressed man' called Salvatore.


He said: 'It would have cost me £10,000 I think.

'I presumed it would happen in the showers one day, someone would just knife me.'

Shockingly, Leeson, now 46 and living in Galway in Ireland, had to speak to his wife and father in order for them to negotiate his murder on his behalf.

He added: 'Obviously they cried but you have to deal with the reality of situation.'


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Back in Singapore, he was sentenced to six and a half years in Changi Prison. He was released in 1999, having been diagnosed with colon cancer, which he survived despite being given a slim chance of pulling through. His wife divorced him while he was inside.

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Darkness: The stark admission came during Leeson's TV interview

During the interview, Leeson also spoke honestly about his crime and refused to sidestep the blame for the momentous losses which finished Barings after 233 years of trading.

He added that he has no sympathy for rogue traders Jerome Kerviel of Societe Generale and Kweku Adoboli of UBS, who lost £6.1billion and £1.1billion respectively.

'Anything that they've done and hidden is fraud.' Leeson said. 'I think it's a macho culture that's evolved. When things go wrong, there's a certain age group that is usually involved: young men.'




Contrite: Leeson readily accepts the blame for his actions, although many have criticised the lack of oversight at Barings Bank at the time


When asked if a rogue trader will ever bring down a bank again, Leeson replied: 'No doubt about it. If you ask anyone in the banking industry, they will say "yes", but it won't be me.'


Leeson is also considering a return to the financial sector, although, instead of trading, he wants to set up an organisation to help people financially crippled by the banking crisis.

He is also a regular guest on the after-dinner and keynote speaking circuit.








Downfall: Leeson addresses a press conference. A film was made about him called Rogue Trader and starred Ewan McGregor

THE RISK-TAKER WHO BROKE A BANK: NICK LEESON'S £827MILLION MISTAKE



From 1992, Leeson at first made large profits for Barings in Singapore.

However, his luck turned and he used one of Barings' error accounts (accounts used to correct mistakes made in trading) to hide his losses.

Leeson was chief trader while also being responsible for settling his trades, making it much simpler for him to hide his losses.


By the end of 1992, the account's losses exceeded £2 million, which hit £208 million by the end of 1994. A series of risky trades in 1995 pushed the losses up further.


Leeson left a note reading 'I'm sorry' and fled Singapore on 23 February. The bank was declared insolvent soon after.

The Singapore authorities' report on the collapse was scathingly critical of Barings management

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