A FORMER University of Nottingham student who is accused of Britain's biggest fraud cried as he told a court he was trying to cover millions of pounds worth of losses incurred at the bank he called his "family".
Kweku Adoboli, 32, is accused of gambling away £1.4 billion while working for Swiss bank UBS during the global financial crisis.
At one point he was at risk of causing the bank losses of £7.5 billion, jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told.
Adoboli broke down in tears as he gave evidence for the first time in his trial, in which he claimed his off-book trades were to cover $40 million (£24.9 million) annual losses of his portfolio of companies from 2008.
The jury heard that by 2007 Adoboli and a more senior trader, John Hughes, were in charge of a portfolio of companies with assets of $50 billion (£31.1 billion).
"Our book was massive. A tiny mistake led to huge losses. We were these two kids trying to make it work," he said.
Adoboli, wearing a dark suit and red tie, denied he was a "gambler" and said his knowledge of UBS' systems did not result in "fraudulent behaviour".
Fighting back tears, he said: "It's hard to find the words to describe the relationship I had with UBS as an organisation.
"Every single bit of effort I put into that organisation was for the benefit of the bank, the people around me and the book I worked on."
He added: "To find yourself in Wandsworth Prison for nine months because all you did was work so hard for this bank ...", before stopping as he broke down in tears.
Adoboli faces two counts of fraud and four counts of false accounting between October 2008 and last September, allegedly gambling away the money on high-risk illegal trades aimed at boosting his annual bonuses and job prospects.
The former public schoolboy, of Clark Street, Whitechapel, east London, worked for UBS's global synthetic equities division, buying and selling exchange traded funds, which track different types of stocks, bonds or commodities such as metals.
The trial continues.
