Exclusive
Intern presses Enter
Several billion missing. Bank denies he ever worked there. He kept the badge.
By our Compliance correspondent
It was his first day on the trading floor of a major bank, one that has asked this newspaper, repeatedly, not to print its name.
At 09:02, the head of desk stepped out for coffee. His instructions were brief: don’t touch anything. At 09:07, a window appeared on the intern’s screen and asked him to confirm. He pressed Enter.
By 09:14, several billion had left the building. Nobody knows where it went. Asked for comment, the intern said he did not know either, and asked whether he could still have lunch.
The bank says he never worked there. Building security says the same. Their records show a visitor’s pass, a lukewarm latte and a desk chair that was still spinning when the guards arrived.
He kept the badge.
Since that morning, the Compliance Department has watched him around the clock. Every move he makes is logged, timestamped and published. He describes this as unnecessary. Compliance disagrees.
Coffee breaks for senior staff have been suspended until further notice. The Enter key on desk 14 has been removed and is being kept as evidence.
