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Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 12:15 GMT 13:15 UK

Refco boss facing Austrian arrest

Former chief executive of commodities brokerage Refco, Phillip Bennett Authorities in Austria have issued an arrest warrant for Phillip Bennett, former head of US brokerage Refco.

The move came a day after prosecutors began an inquiry into fraud and related charges surrounding Mr Bennett.

A warrant was also put out for the son of the former head of Bank Fuer Arbeit und Wirtschaft (Bawag), Wolfgang Floettl Jnr.

He is alleged to have carried out speculative dealings, sparking Bawag losses of almost 1bn euros (£690m).

On Friday, the bank said it had concealed the losses, made during the 1990s as a result of making bad loans to funds run by Mr Floettl.

The loans were made to companies mainly engaged in interest rate and currency transactions in the Caribbean.

Bawag said it had chosen to write down the losses over time, rather than in a single year, amid fears that such a large loss would rattle consumer faith in the bank.

Step down

On Monday, Fritz Verzetnitsch - head of the Austrian Labour Federation, which owns the bank - resigned from his post following the admission.

Four Bawag board members also stepped down.

Officials at the bank have maintained that the bank is financially sound, but the news comes just months after revelations that it lost an estimated $425m from the collapse of Refco.

Bawag - one of Refco's biggest creditors - has now sued both the company and its former chief for fraud, unjust enrichment and deception in an effort to recover $350m it loaned to Mr Bennett days before its collapse in October last year.

Since then, Mr Bennett has been indicted in the US on eight charges including conspiracy, securities fraud and making false filings.

The 57-year old is alleged to have hidden $430m in debts at the US brokerage before it floated on the stock market.

Mr Bennett has denied any wrongdoing and is currently confined to his home in New York under a $50m bail bond.



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Related to this story:
Ex-Refco boss faces eight charges (11 Nov 05 |  Business )
Man Group bid wins Refco auction (10 Nov 05 |  Business )
Five firms bid for Refco assets (06 Nov 05 |  Business )
Delay to ex-Refco chief's hearing (31 Oct 05 |  Business )
Man Group confirms Refco interest (24 Oct 05 |  Business )
Refco seeks bankruptcy protection (18 Oct 05 |  Business )

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