Leeson returns to taste justice in Singapore

Barings collapse: Accused trader ready to swap leniency for revelations of bank's dramatic fall

STEPHEN VINES

Nick Leeson, the man who is alleged to have brought down Barings bank with his rogue futures trading, has returned to Singapore as he left - travelling business class, accompanied by his wife Lisa - but this time they were joined by two lawyers and three security officers.

He fought extradition to Singapore for almost nine months but finally volunteered to return and to apologise for claims that he would not be able to get a fair trial in the republic.

It was typical of Mr Leeson that he sought trial in Britain.His two years in Singapore were spent with hard-working, hard-drinking expatriates who got to know little of the country. They would instinctively believe that British justice was better than that offered by the republic.

They have a point. Singaporean judges are not known for leniency. "Compassion went out of the window a long time ago, now I deliver justice," said Chief Justice Yong Pung-how in a recent judgment. "Too much compassion shortens one's life," he added.

Compassion may be in short supply but last month's publication of Singapore's independent inspectors' report into the Barings collapse made it clear they would not simply blame Mr Leeson for the debacle.

Lawrence Ang, the director of Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), specialists in financial crime, has said that if Leeson offered to co-operate with his team he saw no reason not to accept the offer.

Singapore does not allow the American-style practice of plea bargaining but judges have been known to give lighter sentences in return for co- operation with the authorities. John Koh, Mr Leeson's Singaporean lawyer, will no doubt have explained this to him. He might also have outlined the advantages of a guilty plea.

Mr Leeson will appear in a district court today, when details will be given of the 11 fraud, forgery and deception charges he faces. As Mr Leeson has fled once, he is unlikely to be given bail. Nor is he required to enter a plea at this stage.

The district court cannot impose sentences exceeding 14 years. Any sentence exceeding five years would mean detention in one of Singapore's four maximum security prisons.

Some Singaporean legal experts believe that Mr Leeson could escape with less than five years if the authorities believe that he has made a significant contribution to the conviction of senior Barings officials who are named in the report as having lied to the investigators and attempted to cover up the bank's problems.

The most vulnerable official is James Bax, the former managing director of Baring Asia Pacific. He has been questioned by CAD and remains in Singapore with his passport withheld.The Singaporean inspectors accused him of having concealed evidence of Leeson's losses, withholding evidence from an internal audit and giving false material under oath.

Mr Bax's boss in London, Peter Norris, the chief executive of Barings Investment bank, is even more heavily criticised in the report. However, he would need to be extradited to face charges in Singapore.