Oil trader banned after betting $10m while drunk

Despite traders having a reputation for excess, drinking alcohol is strongly discouraged. (Getty Images)

Other stories: Top 10 billion dollar oil deals of the summer | 2009's winners and losers in the oil industry | 10 events in oil's history that shook the world | Top 10 Gulf mega projects | Top 10 largest publicly traded oil companies | Top 10 National Oil Companies by production | World's 10 largest oilfield services companies | World's 10 largest oil and gas contractors

An oil trader who works in the City of London in the UK has been banned from trading for two years after betting US$10 million on the oil futures market while under the influence of alcohol.

British newspaper The Times reported that Derek Redmond, a commodities broker for Morgan Stanley, made a number of 'bets' on the future cost of freight after retunring from a long lunch at which he had drank a significant amount of alcohol.

When Redmond realised the scale of the potential situation he hid the trades from his superiors. Redmond then traded his way out of the situation the next day and managed to make a small profit.

However, Morgan Stanley took a dim view of his actions and sacked him for gross misconduct while the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the City watchdog, banned him for two years for "a lack of honesty and integrity" and falling short of the standards it expects.

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article