"Mr.Copper" Pleads Guilty

TOKYO: Former Sumitomo trader Yasuo Hamanaka, whose staggering losses roiled the world's metal markets and raised serious questions about how Japanese firms are run went on trial Monday and, as expected, pled guilty. Hamanaka is charged with forgery and fraud that left his firm $2.6 billion in the hole. Prosecutors say Hamanaka forged the signatures of two of his superiors to cover his massive trading losses, swindling a Sumitomo subsidiary out of $770 million. Sumitomo's star trader is the only person charged and faces up to 15 years in prison. British and U.S. investigators are continuing separate probes into whether he manipulated the world market, and if so, who benefited. Hamanakas simple plea serves two purposes. While nine out of ten criminal defendants in Japan are convicted, showing contrition usually helps to lower the sentence. In Sumitomos favor, the guilty plea also avoids lengthy hearings which might have shed light on the question of how Hamanaka was able to carry out the biggest financial fraud in history without any of his bosses noticing.