Briton held over huge shares crash faces 380 years in jail
A FINANCIAL trader appeared in court yesterday accused of triggering a £ 445billion crash on Wall Street from suburban London.
Trembling in the dock, Navinder Singh Sarao vowed to fight extradition to the US where he is accused of manipulating markets to make £ 27million.
Sarao, 36, is charged with 22 offences including “spoofing” – placing fake trades to boost markets and then cancelling them within seconds.
Sarao is said to have helped cause the May 2010 “flash crash” in New York which sent shock waves around the world’s financial markets including the City of London.
The father- of- two allegedly made more than £ 500,000 on the day of the crash by buying before prices recovered and repeated the swindle over five years. He could be sentenced to 380 years.
Wearing a yellow sweater and white tracksuit pants, he shook his head and said, “No,” when asked if he consented to extradition.
For the US government, Aaron Watkins told Westminster magistrates: “The extradition request is… concerning allegations including 22 counts of criminal activity, including wire fraud, commodity fraud, commodity manipulation and attempted manipulation.”
Saroa’s alleged fraud centred on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and he is wanted by the state of Illinois, said Mr Watkins.
District Judge Quentin Purdy was urged to remand Sarao in custody but he was released on bail with sureties worth £ 5,050,000.
He has approximately £ 5million in one of his trading accounts of which £ 4.7million is a loan and there is £ 100,000 in his bank account, the court heard.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission also accuses Sarao of “exceptionally large, aggressive, and persistent spoofing tactics” in pursuit of profits.
The extradition hearing is due on August 18 and 19. Sarao was arrested on Tuesday. Yesterday, there was no answer at the house where he lives with his parents in Hounslow, west London, the address of Nav Sarao Futures Ltd. There were few signs of wealth: the curtains were closed and a green Vauxhall Corsa was outside
A neighbour, HS Johal, 55, said he had not seen the alleged fraudster for several years.
He said: “Navinder didn’t have a car. I thought he worked somewhere else. His parents are such nice people… very religious.”
Mr Johal said Sarao’s brother lives opposite.
Neighbour Anil Puri, 41, said: “We all used to play together out here quite a few years ago. He was bright. He was good with everyone, like a normal kid.”