FSA bans Morgan Stanley's oiled trader

David Redmond gambled $10m on oil futures after a three-and-a-half-hour lunch, then tried to conceal it

On reflection, David Redmond probably shouldn't have gone back to the office after a fateful boozy lunch last year that lasted three and a half hours.

The commodities trader arrived back at his desk at Morgan Stanley in London at 4.41pm on 6 February and through the fug proceeded to gamble $10m (£5.1m) in a frantic series of trades. It very nearly went down as the most expensive lunch in history. In the sober light of the following day, he managed to trade his way out of the position without telling anyone and avoided making any losses. But it wasn't enough to save his neck.

The Financial Services Authority today banned Redmond from working in the City for at least two years for concealing his trading position from bosses and leaving the bank exposed to significant risk. Margaret Cole, the director of enforcement at the City watchdog, said his actions had "showed a lack of honesty and integrity".

For two and a half hours after returning to the office, Redmond traded on average once every seven and a half seconds on oil futures. An analysis of the key strokes needed to place the orders showed that it was deliberate and not simply an accident such as leaning on the keyboard, the FSA said. In its judgment, the FSA said: "He drank alcohol over lunch and it appears that this affected his behaviour on his return to the office, although he was not visibly drunk."

Redmond, now 28, built a substantial short position that could have cost $10m. The FSA said he appeared to have panicked and hid the position by transferring trades into a colleague's books to circumvent Morgan Stanley's risk-management systems.

The FSA said Redmond had missed a number of opportunities to own up, including a chance to "reflect overnight" on what he had done.

Morgan Stanley became suspicious during routine checks. Redmond admitted that he had made an error that had left a large short position, but he failed to own up to his efforts to conceal the trades until he was directly confronted. He was suspended that day, on 7 February, and dismissed a month later. Morgan Stanley was not criticised in the FSA ruling. In a statement, the bank said it had "promptly identified and investigated the issue and took swift action".

The bank has no outright ban on alcohol consumption during the day but does issue guidelines that it should only be drunk at social events and for client entertainment.

The FSA said Redmond's actions appeared to have been out of character; that he had no previous record of misconduct and had good appraisals at the bank. It also said he had since shown remorse and cooperated with the investigation. Among other extenuating circumstances, it noted that Redmond felt under a degree of stress at work and that his "judgement and recollection of events leading to the creation of the substantial short option by close of business on 6th February may have been impaired".

Redmond's lawyer did not return calls seeking comment.

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David Teather

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