Crooked banker gets five years

A TOP City banker who made £2m from rigged stock market bets that funded his gambling addiction was jailed for five years today.

Asif 'The Walrus' Butt, the first member of a compliance control room to be convicted of insider trading, was supposed to have prevented information leaks.

Instead he betrayed his privileged position at Credit Suisse First Boston by passing coded commercial nuggets to old school chums 'on the outside' in what the judge branded a 'flagrant, calculated and deliberate breach of trust'.

The group used the information to wager up to £600,000 at a time on the performance of company share prices, sometimes just minutes before major announcements were released.

The trial at London's Southwark Crown Court centred on 19 crooked deals and winnings of £265,000, although police are convinced the true figure is £2m.

In any event, the £90,000-a-year vice-president at CSFB took the lion's share of 80% and used it to frequent London casinos.

One night, he was so desperate to get into Soho's Golden Nugget that he swapped his trainers for a nearby tramp's filthy shoes to meet the dress code.

He then went on to win £10,000 at blackjack wearing the vagrant's battered brogues.