Drunken oil trader fined $108,000 for manipulating crude futures

[Newsjock]

Source: Reuters

Britain’s financial regulator has fined and banned a former PVM Oil Futures Ltd. broker for manipulating the price of oil last year by the unauthorized purchase of more than 7 million barrels while drunk.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said in a statement it had fined Steven Noel Perkins £72,000 ($108,000 U.S.) and banned him from working in the financial services industry for at least five years for buying huge volumes of Brent crude oil without client authorization.

The FSA said that in the early hours of Tuesday June 30 2009, Mr. Perkins traded in “extremely high volume” on the ICE August Brent crude oil future contract, accumulating a position equivalent to over 7 million barrels of oil.

Mr. Perkins had been drinking extremely heavily over the weekend prior to June 29 and had continued drinking through Monday before executing the trades, the FSA said. Since the incident Mr. Perkins has joined a rehabilitation program for alcoholics and has stopped drinking.

“As a direct result of Perkins’ trading, the price of Brent increased significantly,” the FSA said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/how-drunk-oil-trader-manipulated-prices/article1622676/

[DJ13]

1. Anyone know how many cases of liquor have been delivered to Goldman Sachs?

[conspirator]

2. When they are not stealing, they are drinking and trading n/t

[unc70]

3. Usually drinking is just to manage the high

Often following some special trend and other lines.

Fuels a lot of the manic behavior.

No info about this particular incident.

[girl gone mad]

4. Drinking is the least of it.

Traders are well known cokeheads.

[unc70]

5. Yes, drinking is how they manage their high.

Was true in NY and London 25 years ago, still the case though probably not quite as obvious as back in the 80's.