Traders who bet the ranch in the derivatives market and lose are likely to face increasingly harsher prison sentences if convicted of fraud. The seven-and-a-half year sentence former Allfirst Financial trader John Rusnak received from a Baltimore court last week is thought to be one of the longest stretches handed down to a rogue trader, according to market professionals. Indeed, Rusnak's derivatives trades resulted in a USD691 million loss, but Nick Leeson, the rogue trader's rogue trader, only received a six-and-a-half year sentence for bringing down Barings Bank.
One market official in London said the stiffer sentence reflects the harsher business environment in the wake of Enron's collapse and a string of financial scandals in the U.S.
