BBC News | BUSINESS | The hunt for John Rusnak

BBC News Online: Business

Wednesday, 6 February, 2002, 13:51 GMT

The hunt is underway for John Rusnak, a US citizen in his 40s suspected of involvement in a $750m fraud at Allied Irish Banks' US unit.

AIB said Mr Rusnak lived in the metropolitan area of Baltimore-Washington and was a "pillar of the community".

John Rusnak
Age: Mid-40s
Wage: approx $85,000
Married with two children
Regular churchgoer

The bank has called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help in the search for the rogue trader, who had failed to report for work.

"We contacted the FBI about 24 hours ago and the FBI are looking for him on our behalf," said AIB chief executive Michael Buckley.

"We have confidence that the FBI has interviewed his wife but we haven't got the guy.

"We have reason to believe that he is still in the mid-Atlantic area," he added.

Two-strong team

AIB was reported as saying Mr Rusnak had cooperated with an internal investigation up to the weekend before disappearing.

Mr Rusnak was a member of a team of two in foreign exchange and 25 in US treasury operations at Allfirst's Baltimore office.

He had been with the bank for seven years, though the fraud is thought to have occurred only in the past 12 months.

Related to this story:
How Leeson broke the bank (22 Jun 99 | The Economy)

Internet links: Allfirst | Allied Irish Banks |
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