Main suspect in Deutsche stock manipulation case in custody in Indonesia

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- The main suspect in a massive 2010 stock manipulation by a unit of Deutsche Securities has been apprehended by authorities in Indonesia, a Seoul prosecution office said Tuesday.

Derek Ong, a former employee at the Hong Kong branch of Deutsche Bank, was arrested at an Indonesian airport Monday, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutors in Seoul had asked Interpol to list Ong and two other suspects on its Red Notices and for his immediate arrest and extradition to South Korea.

The 45-year-old British national will be detained for 45 days, during which an Indonesian court will review whether he should be sent to Korea for a trial, the prosecution said.

Ong and the others are accused of working together to carry out a 2.4 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) stock selloff on South Korea's main KOSPI bourse on Nov. 11, 2010.

The selling caused the KOSPI to plunge by more than 50 points in 10 minutes, or a 2.7 percent drop, wiping out some 28 trillion won in value on the local equity market.

The suspects reaped a combined 44.8 billion won through the derivatives positions they had set in advance, known as "put options."

A put option allows the investor to sell shares at a determined price until expiration and gains profit when stocks decline.

In 2016, a Seoul court sentenced a South Korean man, then an executive of Deutsche Securities, to five years in jail for his involvement in the malpractice.

The local units of Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Securities were ordered to pay a combined 46.3 billion won in fines and forfeiture.

elly@yna.co.kr
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