ROGUE trader Nick Leeson has boasted that he is coining it in by dealing on the stock market during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former broker, who brought down Barings Bank with losses of £830million, also praised capitalism for letting people like him make a fortune in a crisis.
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He shrugged off the millions losing their jobs or facing ruin because of coronavirus as he boasted of doing “very well”.
He wrote on Facebook: “I’m back trading and we’re continuing to have another few great and profitable weeks!”
And the 53-year-old, who runs an online trading service, defended himself by saying: “Markets exist through crises.
“It really doesn’t matter if it’s the Gulf War, Coronavirus, Boris Johnson getting sick, Trump tweeting or a banking collapse, the markets react.
“That’s the beauty of a capitalist society where we have freedom of speech and a free market economy.”
Leeson, who grew up in a Watford council house, was seen as a trading star for making millions for Barings in Singapore.
But he racked up huge losses which he managed to conceal from bosses by exploiting a chronic lack of supervision in the 1990s.
That’s the beauty of a capitalist society where we have freedom of speech and a free market economy.
Nick LeesonBarings, the world’s second oldest merchant bank, went into liquidation and Leeson was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
He survived colon cancer and moved to Galway, Ireland, with beautician Leona Tormay, her two kids and their son.
As he boasted about his profits, Leeson also gushed about the need to follow guidelines during the crisis.
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He wrote: “One ‘rogue’ and we are all at risk.”
But Ex-Met Police detective chief inspector Mick Neville said: “It is in very poor taste to boast about profits.
“If he had any decency, he would give all his profits to the health service.”
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