Ex-JPMorgan employee arrested over 'London Whale' charges

MADRID (Reuters) - Former JPMorgan employee Javier Martin-Artajo, who is wanted by the United States in a trading scandal that cost the bank $6.2 billion last year, was arrested in Madrid on Tuesday morning, Spanish police said in a statement.

Martin-Artajo handed himself in to police after they found him and got in touch with him, the authorities said, without detailing where they had tracked him down to.

The police added that Spain's High Court, which is usually responsible for deciding on extradition requests, would now take on his case.

Earlier this month U.S. prosecutors brought criminal charges against Spaniard Martin-Artajo and his former colleague, Frenchman Julien Grout, who both worked for JPMorgan's chief investment office in London.

 

The unit was caught up in the scandal that became known as the 'London Whale', after the nickname given to JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil because of his outsized trades. Iksil is cooperating with government investigators and will not face criminal charges, Reuters has reported.

Martin-Artajo and Grout have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to falsify books and records related to the trading losses.

Martin-Artajo has previously said through lawyers that he expects to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

His lawyer in London could not immediately be reached to comment on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Sarah White in Madrid, Additional reporting by Clare Hutchison in London; Editing by Julien Toyer and Louise Heavens)