Former ANZ trader Etienne Alexiou admitted to lying to the corporate regulator ASIC during a dramatic day of testimony in his long-running legal action against the bank.
Alexiou, who was sacked as global head of ANZ’s balance sheet trading department in September 2015, claims he was dismissed for blowing the whistle on alleged manipulation of the bank bill swap rate (BBSW), while ANZ maintains he was fired for sending lewd messages to colleagues.
The bank settled a related ASIC case for $50 million in 2017.
During cross-examination, Alexiou conceded that his statement to ASIC on May 22, 2015, denying knowledge of anyone attempting to influence the BBSW, was false.
“On reflection, I think I was [lying],” he told the court, adding, “I certainly did not intend to lie.” He had earlier been granted an indemnity certificate under Section 128 of the Evidence Act, protecting him from self-incrimination in future proceedings.
The court also examined offensive messages Alexiou sent to colleagues, including inappropriate comments about mothers at his daughter’s school and objectifying remarks about women, which he acknowledged were “derogatory and offensive.”
Alexiou accepted these messages were “inappropriate to (his) wife and daughters.”
Now running his own private equity firm, Alexiou faces a trial expected to last six weeks, where the focus will remain on his whistleblowing claims against ANZ and the circumstances surrounding his dismissal.
Source: The Australian.
