Hound of Hounslow: $1 trillion flash crash trader set to be spared jail (2024)

An autistic man whose illegal trading from a bedroom in west London allegedly helped trigger a $1 trillion Wall Street crash should be spared prison because he was not motivated by greed, US prosecutors have said.

Navinder Singh Sarao, 41, dubbed the Hound of Hounslow in a mocking reference to The Wolf of Wall Street, was extradited to the US in 2016 accused of helping to cause a so-called flash crash on May 6, 2010, by illegally manipulating markets to earn himself $12.8 million.

He was allowed to return to Britain to await sentencing after admitting wire fraud and spoofing, a trading technique that aims to manipulate markets by making fake orders.

Prosecutors recommended yesterday that he should serve no jail time because he “extensively co-operated” with the American government, had been “extraordinarily timely, complete, truthful, and helpful” and “clearly was not motivated by money, greed, or any desire for a lavish lifestyle”.

They said he lived a “childlike” existence in his parents’ home in Hounslow and should not face further punishment. They also cited Sarao’s diagnosis with autism as a factor in their recommendation.

Sarao had co-operated immediately after his extradition from the UK and had “substantially assisted” the government in tackling manipulative trading, the prosecutors said.

This included explaining his techniques and testifying last year against Jitesh Thakkar, a software programmer based in Chicago who was accused of helping Sarao with his spoofing activities. Mr Thakkar has since been acquitted.

Prosecutors added that Sarao, who spent time in prison in Britain before a year-long battle against extradition, also “expressed complete remorse” and recognised that he and his family had drawn “extensive and embarrassing publicity”.

While he had unlawfully earned about $12.8 million through his manipulations, and generated profits of more than $70 million from his trading, he did not lead anything like an extravagant life, with a £5,000 car his only big purchase.

Sarao lost money in investment scams and surrendered his remaining $7.6 million to US authorities. His main income is now from British benefits.

Almost $1 trillion was wiped off the value of some of America’s biggest listed companies in a matter of minutes before markets sharply rebounded again. The crash shocked investors and regulators.

“He resides with and is cared for and supported by his parents, uses coupons to buy food at McDonald’s [and] lives in a childlike bedroom that includes multiple stuffed animals,” prosecutors said.

“The defendant’s utter lack of significant personal expenditures or extravagance sheds light on the nature and circ*mstances of his offence because they strongly indicate that he was not motivated by any greed whatsoever.”

Rather than greed, they said that Sarao had appeared to have been “driven by what he has described as an obsessive or addictive desire to excel at electronic trading” and had tackled it as though it was a computer game.

His autism “also informs his trading behaviour and conduct”. His clinical psychologist has called his autism “both a disability . . . and a talent”.

While sentencing guidelines indicate he could be jailed for up to eight years, the US authorities said he posed no risk of reoffending that would warrant time in prison. He is due to be sentenced on January 28.

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