Trader who lost £1.5bn 'sorry beyond words'

The "rogue trader" accused of losing his bank a record £1.5bn appeared in court yesterday to face a further charge of fraud.

Kweku Adoboli, 31, had already been charged with two counts of false accounting and one of fraud after he was arrested last week in the offices of the Swiss banking giant UBS. Mr Adoboli's defence lawyer Patrick Gibbs QC said: "He is sorry beyond words for what has happened here. He stands now appalled at the scale of the consequences of his disastrous miscalculations."

The Ghanaian-born trader, who wore a grey suit with navy blue tie, gave no indication of how he will plead. He put his hand on his heart and nodded to the public gallery as he stood to confirm his name and address at City of London magistrates' court.

Alison Gowman, the chief magistrate, said Mr Adoboli will appear at the same court on 20 October for a committal hearing. The Financial Services Authority and its Swiss counterpart have launched an investigation into why UBS failed to spot the allegedly fraudulent trading.