A former JPMorgan Chase banker who's now on the run was sentenced to 7 ½ years in jail for his role in a multimillion-pound fraud against the Libyan government.
Frederic Marino, 56, was found guilty in December of fraud by abuse of position of trust from 2009 to 2014. Marino wasn't present for his sentencing on Monday at London's Southwark Crown Court, and an arrest warrant was already issued last year after he failed to show up for his eight-week jury trial.
Marino helped set up asset management company FM Capital Partners Ltd. to manage money invested from the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio, collecting undeclared finder fees for a variety of investments. Marino was previously a head of JPMorgan's alternative investment emerging market group.
He is a "greedy, corrupt and manipulative man," and "would have gone on to continue offending" if he'd not been caught out, Judge Tony Baumgartner said during the hearing.
The total value of the fraud was $10 million plus over €1 million, the prosecution lawyers said afterwards.
Yoshiki Ohmura, 47, a former Julius Baer banker, stood trial alongside Marino and was found guilty by the jury. The judge sentenced him to 3 ½ years in prison for the same offense at the hearing. A warrant was put out for his arrest after he failed to attend the sentencing, with the judge previously granting him bail for personal family reasons.
Earlier civil court claims against the pair had alleged that Marino used the money to live a lavish lifestyle, allegedly racking up expenses on a company credit card for a helicopter ride, clothes and restaurant bills. He also spent more than £100,000 ($112,600) at the five-star Lanesborough Hotel in London.
Ohmura's role in the scheme was to act as a mediator to FMCP. Marino arranged for fees from the funds to be paid through offshore companies, while Ohmura assisted him through a company, which channeled the "secret profits" after taking a cut.
Lawyers for Marino and Ohmura didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"They showed a complete disregard for the important position they held to make investments work for their clients who were looking to diversify away from solely oil revenues," Andrew West, a specialist prosecutor at the CPS, said in a statement.
A third banker, Aurelien Bessot, 47, a director of FM Capital Partners, who wasn't part of the trial but was named in the indictment, had already pleaded guilty. He was given a 15-month custodial sentence, suspended by 2 years, meaning he will avoid jail time.
Bessot declined to comment outside of the court.
