A Goldman trading scandal?
Posted by: Matthew Goldstein Reuters
While most in the US were celebrating the 4th of July, a Russian immigrant living in New Jersey was being held on federal charges of stealing top-secret computer trading codes from a major New York-based financial institution—that sources say is none other than Goldman Sachs.
The allegations, if true, are big news because the codes the accused man, Sergey Aleynikov, tried to steal is the secret code to unlocking Goldman’s automated stocks and commodities trading businesses. Federal authorities allege the computer codes and related-trading files that Aleynikov uploaded to a German-based website help this major “financial institution” generate millions of dollars in profits each year.
The platform is one of the things that apparently gives Goldman a leg-up over the competition when it comes to rapid-fire trading of stocks and commodities. Federal authorities say the platform quickly processes rapid developments in the markets and uses top secret mathematical formulas to allow the firm to make highly-profitable automated trades.
The criminal case began to unfold on the evening of July 3 when Aleynikov was arrested by FBI agents at Newark Liberty Airport, after returning from Chicago. Aleynikov had just started a job with another firm in Chicago, after leaving the big firm in NY in early June. It appears the financial institution allegedly victimized by Aleynikov had alerted federal authorities that its former employee might be up to no good.
On July 4, Aleynikov was processed on a “theft of trade secrets” charge in a criminal complaint that was filed in federal court in Manhattan. As of this afternoon, he was still being held in federal custody pending posting of bail.
A Goldman spokesman declined to comment on the incident. A spokeswoman for the US Attorney in the Southern District of New York didn’t comment. Authorities reportedly took all the computers from Aleynikov’s home in New Jersey.
His wife, Elina, says her husband is innocent. Speaking in a phone interview from the couple’s New Jersey home, she says her husband worked hard for Goldman Sachs and has been a good citizen–noting he’s lived in the US for 19 years. She seems mystified that federal authorities would arrest him on the eve of a holiday.
Meanwhile, federal authorities appear to believe Aleynikov, who has lived in the US for more than a dozen years but frequently travels back-and-forth to his native Russia, may have had help. The German website that Aleynikov allegedly uploaded the stolen information to is registered to a person in London. That, of course, gives rise to speculation about this all being a case of international espionage.
*so he probably lived in Short Hills. He was only with GS since 2007 so he wouldn't have that much loyalty to them and his bonus was likely cut to shreads if he was leaving for a smaller firm in Chicago. This could be the seminole case for the big banks to argue for their big bonus payouts, "see, if we don't pay them they will leave us." But you can see that they are sweating bullets here folks. Someone out there may already be capitalizing on this info. Hummm, who might that be? Oh Mr. Dimon? ZeroHedge has great article on this and has posted the FBI complaint. Go here to view.
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