AIB and the missing millions

BBC News Online presents audio and video coverage of the crisis at AIB bank after US trader John Rusnak loses $750m.

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6 February 2002

Fraud crisis at the AIB

Suspected: John Rusnak

Ireland's biggest bank the AIB was left reeling after a trader, John Rusnak at US subsidiary Allfirst, loses $750m in share trading. The bank assured customers it was financially secure and asked the FBI to track down Mr Rusnak.

 The BBC's Stephen Evans reports

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A 'complex' fraud

Buckley: "This was a complex and a very determined fraud"

AIB's chief executive Michael Buckley believes the affair is "a complex and a very determined fraud". But he says the group's underlying business and profitability momentum is not impaired by what is "a once-off blow."

 AIB chief executive Michael Buckley

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Investor concerns

Enron's collapse undermined confidence in regulation

The massive losses suffered by the Allied Irish Bank, coming so soon after the collapse of the American energy giant Enron, raise more concerns among investors about whether they can trust companies with their money.

 The BBC's Jeff Randall reports

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The man who broke Barings

Nick Leeson

John Rusnak has been compared with "rogue trader" Nick Leeson - the man whose dealings brought down Barings Bank. Leeson went to prison for three years and he told the BBC's James Naughtie that nothing had been learned about financial security.

 click here to listen

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FBI investigators question Rusnak

The AIB asked the FBI to investigate

After a media manhunt in his native Baltimore John Rusnak and his attorney finally contacted FBI investigators looking into the fraud. The bank's directors are holding crisis talks to establish the extent of the damage. The BBC's Rory Cellan Jones reports.

 click here to watch

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Whizzkids who go off the rails

High pressure and high rewards

Pressure is mounting for financial institutions to tighten their procedures to prevent traders from costing shareholders millions. There are concerns that the pressure to achieve profits is tempting staff to take unacceptable gambles. The BBC's Max Foster reports.

 click here to watch