The ‘Rogue Trader’ Nick Leeson, who bought down Barings Bank after losing them £800m in illegal trades, is rumoured to be heading to the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house.
Nick rose to fame - or infamy - after making a series of increasingly risky illegal trades starting in 1992 when he was based in Singapore.
The fraudulent and unauthorised moves directly led to Britain’s oldest bank collapsing in 1995.
After realising he was unable to recuperate the money he’d lost, he fled Singapore leaving a note on his desk that said: “I’m sorry”.
After running to Malaysia, Thailand and finally Germany, Nick was arrested in Frankfurt and extradited back to Singapore on 20 November 1995.
He was denied a trial in the UK - Nick’s preferred option - and was exported to Singapore where he was jailed for six and a half years.
During his time in prison, the 51-year-old wrote his best-selling autobiography ‘Rogue Trader’, which was later adapted into the 1999 Hollywood film starring Ewan McGregor.
He was released early in 1999 due to being diagnosed with colon cancer, from which he has since recovered.
Since then Nick has made a name for himself as an after dinner speaker, guest lecturer and has written several more books.
He now lives on the west coast of Ireland and was the CEO of Galway FC until 2011.
At 51, he is likely to be the oldest person to enter the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house this year.
It is thought Nick will be joined in the house by former TOWIE star Dan Osborne, celebrity psychic Sally Morgan and actress Roxanne Pallet.
However, the most surprising rumour of who could be joining the house is Stormy Daniels, who claims to have been silenced about her affair with Donald Trump - although she is doing her best to deny she’s signed up.
‘Celebrity Big Brother’ launches tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.
