“Nick Leeson is a former derivatives trader who became infamous for his role in the collapse of Barings Bank, a British financial institution, in 1995. Leeson was working as a trader in Singapore for Barings Bank when he made a series of unauthorized trades that resulted in huge losses for the bank. Leeson covered up his losses by creating fictitious accounts and lying to his superiors about the state of his trades.
By the time his fraud was discovered, Barings Bank had lost £827 million, which was more than twice its available trading capital. The bank was forced to declare bankruptcy, making it the first major financial institution to collapse due to rogue trading.
Leeson fled Singapore but was eventually arrested in Germany and extradited to Singapore to stand trial. He was convicted of fraud and sentenced to six and a half years in prison, but was released early due to his diagnosis of colon cancer. Leeson has since written several books about his experiences and has worked as a public speaker and financial consultant.”
Sourced from Chat GPT, assessed by Sean Lee
Postscript: Can’t believe that they didn’t mention that Nick Leeson went on to become CEO at the mighty Sligo Rovers FC.