“It is still hoped that the (interior minister) will have the common sense not to deport an individual that is so obviously an asset to our community,” said his spokesman Nick Hopewell-Smith, who announced the news.
Kweku Adoboli was detained on Monday after a routine visit to a Scottish police station, Reuters reported. Though he was convicted in 2012 for the fraud, he was released on probation three years ago after serving half of his seven-year sentence.
Adoboli has lived in the UK since the age of 12, but does not hold citizenship. He has been appealing against a 2014 order by British authorities that he be deported to Ghana as a foreign criminal.
Hopewell-Smith told media that Adoboli is now in an immigration removal center and that he is facing deportation in a few days.
In the 2012 case, Adoboli was convicted of two counts of fraud after racking up about US$2.25 billion in losses for the Swiss bank during three years of high-risk, off-the-books trading he concealed from his superiors.
Perry Stokes, the City of London police detective chief inspector who led the investigation, told the Guardian that Adoboli was “a young man who wanted it all and was not willing to wait”.
Meanwhile, an interior ministry spokesperson commented, “Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.”
The former junior City trader has expressed remorse for his actions and pleads to be allowed to stay in Britain due to his strong personal ties and advocacy work.
