Flash crash trader sentenced to one year’s house arrest
British trader Navinder Sarao who was responsible for the so-called flash crash in 2010 has been sentenced to one year home incarceration.
Sarao was arrested in 2015 and pleaded guilty to illegally manipulating the stock markets.
The sentence, which was handed down by a Chicago court yesterday, was thrown into doubt after lawyers said it would be unenforceable outside the US, according to The Guardian.
Following recess, Judge Virginia Kendall of the northern district of Illinois, was satisfied Sarao would only be allowed to leave the house in a handful of circumstances.
Sarao told the court: “I made more money than I could ever have imagined and it didn’t make me happy. My guilt is heavy. I humbly ask your mercy and can assure you I will never do anything illegal again.”
In a sentencing memo earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said Sarao should not serve more jail time due to his “extraordinary cooperation”.
Sarao had faced between six and a half and eight years imprisonment, but US prosecutors called for leniency in sentencing. They cited his previous cooperation, his autism diagnosis and that he had lost over £40m to fraudsters.
Prosecutor Michael O’Neill said: “The defendant was clearly not motivated by money, greed, or any desire for a lavish lifestyle. His only significant purchase was a £5,000 car.”
Following his guilty plea, the disgraced Brit testified against his former partner Jitesh Thakkar, who was charged with conspiring to spoof the market. Thakkar was eventually acquitted.
From his parents’ home in Hounslow, Sarao would use an illegal market technique called spoofing where traders place large bids with no intention of executing the trade.