“Flash crash” trader Navinder Singh Sarao can’t pay £5m bail because his assets have been frozen
The British trader accused of causing the U.S. 2010 flash crash cannot pay his £5m bail because U.S. authorities have frozen his assets, a court heard today.
Navinder Sarao, who was arrested on 21 April and charged with 22 counts of illegal trading activities, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court this morning for a scheduled bail hearing.
He is fighting extradition to the U.S.
A judge set his bail at £5m a fortnight ago but Sarao has been unable to access the cash due to an asset freeze ordered by US authorities.
His legal team asked the judge, Elizabeth Roscoe, to modify his bail terms but the request was rejected.
"I haven’t done anything wrong apart from be good at my job,” Sarao told the packed court in an unscheduled interjection.
“It’s a bail condition he cannot meet,” his lawyer told the court.
Sarao faces up to 380 years in jail if he is convicted on all charges.
He was remanded in custody.