Citigroup Reinstates Fired Trader Ken Ohtaka After Court Ruling
Citigroup Inc. has reversed the dismissal of senior trader Ken Ohtaka in Japan, following a Tokyo court ruling that deemed the action unjustified. The settlement, reached after a lengthy negotiation process, involves the termination of Ohtaka's employment contract without the confidentiality clause he initially refused.
Ohtaka, who was fired by the US bank in late 2020 for allegedly misleading clients about stock demand, had his dismissal revoked as part of the settlement. He had previously described the internal probe leading to his firing as 'flawed' and 'predetermined'.
The settlement comes amidst a series of legal battles between Citigroup and former employees who were dismissed following an internal probe into questionable actions by the bank's Asia division. Some of these former employees have won or settled their cases, similar to Ohtaka's situation.
Hong Kong's securities regulator had fined Citigroup about $45 million in 2019 for 'pervasive dishonest behaviour' by traders in its Asia markets division between 2008 and 2018. This fine was a result of the bank's own probe in 2018, which led to the firing of Ohtaka and a dozen other traders in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Ohtaka, who plans to retire from the finance industry, will use the settlement proceeds to establish a scholarship fund for underprivileged children. The settlement marks another step in the ongoing process of Citigroup addressing the fallout from its Asia markets division's past actions.
