The British financial trader accused of helping trigger a multibillion-dollar US stock market crash from his parents’ home in London has been granted another week to raise £5m in bail.
Navinder Singh Sarao, 36, who is fighting extradition to the US on charges of 22 counts of fraud and commodity manipulation, will be remanded in custody until he satisfies the bail conditions set after his arrest last week, Westminster magistrates court heard on Wednesday.
The hearing followed the former bank worker and Brunel University student being granted granted bail last week, on condition he provided security of £5m plus £50,000 from his parents.
At last week’s hearing the court heard that Sarao had the £5m in his trading account, of which his lawyers said £4.7m was a loan from a company called IGC. IGC is thought to be International Guarantee Corporation, an Anguilla-based company that US authorities say Sarao created as part of a tax avoidance strategy.
From a secure glass room within the courtroom on Wednesday, Sarao spoke only to confirm his address and date of birth. His lawyer, Joel Smith, said: “Bail was granted last week at an initial hearing subject to conditions. Those conditions have not been met.” Smith said he would not appeal to change the bail conditions.
Allowing Sarao more time to raise the bail money, District Judge Jeremy Coleman told him: “So you were granted bail on the last occasion. You have not met the conditions of bail as yet. I re-bail you on exactly the same conditions as before. If you meet the conditions you will be released. If you don’t meet the conditions you will be back here on 6 May.”
The court also set an extradition hearing date for 24 September.
