ROGUE TRADER WHO LIVED THE HIGH LIFE IN NEW GUILTY PLEA

A ROGUE trader infamous for his hard-partying antics has admitted perverting the course of justice.

Foreign currency dealer Alex Hope, 29, pleaded guilty to trying to hide money from the authorities as they sought to confiscate his illgotten gains.

The former Wembley Stadium catering manager persuaded 100 people to invest £5.5m in a bogus trading scheme – then blew £2m of it on his own expensive tastes.

He spent more than £1m in a casino, over £200,000 on designer watches and shoes, £60,000 on foreign travel and £600,000 in bars and nightclubs in London, Miami and New York.

On one occasion, he racked up a £200,000 bar bill in a single night.

Hope, pictured partying with Desperate Scousewives star Layla Flaherty, was jailed for fraud in 2015 and ordered to repay £2.7m to investors the following year.

Judge Deborah Taylor said his behaviour had significantly impacted investors and he had not accepted his dishonesty.

Hope’s latest conviction relates to attempts to keep cash secret using five hidden bank accounts, and lying about whether he had the money to pay the order. He will be sentenced at a later date.