A futures trader accused of helping bring on the May 6, 2010, “flash crash” — when the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 600 points in five minutes — was arrested in Great Britain on Tuesday, based on charges filed in Chicago.
Navinder Singh Sarao, 37, is accused of using lightning-fast software to manipulate the market for E-Mini S&P 500 futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, according to a U.S. criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.
High-frequency traders such as Sarao use computer programs to buy and sell in milliseconds, scooping up tiny profits that quickly accumulate. They were the focus of the best-selling “Flash Boys,” by Michael Lewis. Sarao earned “significant profits” by manipulating trades, the Department of Justice said.
