US prosecutors set to charge Spanish banker for losses at JPMorgan

US authorities are prepared to arrest a Spanish banker, who was a former top manager at JPMorgan Chase, along with another suspect, for their alleged involvement in trying to conceal the extent of a multibillion-dollar trading loss at the bank’s London headquarters, according to a news report.

Javier Martín-Artajo is expected to be indicted by the US Justice Department on criminal fraud counts in the coming days, The New York Times reported on Saturday. He could be extradited to the United States, along with Julien Grout — a low-level trader in London, who is also expected to be charged — under an agreement with British authorities.

Martín-Artajo, who is no longer at the bank, was one of many people the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations have focused on in their inquiry into losses at JPMorgan Chase last year, which have now reached more than $6 billion. Investigators believe that Martín-Artajo advised traders to use derivatives — complex financial instruments whose values are tied to an asset like corporate bonds — to bet on the health of large corporations. The trades soured last year and racked up steep losses for the bank, authorities said.

Through his lawyer, Martín-Artajo has denied any wrongdoing.

JPMorgan also sued Martín-Artajo in a civil case filed in a British court.