Kweku Adoboli, the UBS trader accused of losing $2.3 billion (1.78 billion euros), broke down in tears on Friday as he took to the witness stand for the first time in his trial in London. Before entering the witness box at Southwark Crown Court, Adoboli was charged with two further counts of false accounting, to which he pleaded not guilty.
He choked up and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief when his lawyer noted that his father, a Ghanaian former United Nations official, had been at the court to support him since his trial began on September 10. Adoboli, 32, stands accused of faking hedge deals by inventing clients, leaving Switzerland's biggest bank exposed to huge losses when the market turned against him.
In addition to the new charges, he also denies two charges of fraud and two charges of false accounting in the period between October 2008 and September last year. "This is the first opportunity you have had to give evidence on oath," his lawyer Paul Garlick told him. Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a red tie, Adoboli confirmed his name, date of birth and place of birth in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
He described his early life, moving from Ghana to Jerusalem, then Damascus, Ghana and Israel again due to his father's work. He became emotional and wiped tears from his eyes as his lawyer said his father had been in the courtroom throughout his trial to support him.
After recovering his composure, Adoboli explained that to end the disruption of moving from country to country, he was sent to a Quaker boarding school in England and then attended a university in England. While there he secured an internship with UBS, which then offered him a job.