JP Morgan's 'London Whale' Links CEO James Dimon to Trading Scandal

The former JP Morgan Chase trader known as 'the London Whale' has broken his silence to allege that the bank's Chief Executive James Dimon is also responsible for the trading scandal that lost the bank $6.2 billion.

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In an account on his website, Bruno Iksil said: "The senior executives chose Iksil to work as a screen for them in late 2010." He also alleged that when the Wall Street bank's Chief Investment Office (CIO), where the French trader served, had lost $1 billion dollars, “JPMorgan as a whole had made $4 billion for itself net of its CIO loss.”

Iksil argued several times that his role in the scandal has been overstated. In a letter sent to news outlets, he previously claimed that he was instructed repeatedly by his superiors to carry out the trading strategy that led to the losses.

Mr. Iksil said in this letter that he repeatedly told his supervisors in 2011 and 2012 about the risks involved in his trading style, but they ordered him to continue with the same strategy.

In April and May 2012, huge trading losses occurred at the bank’s CIO unit, based on transactions booked through the City branch. Iksil’s role of buying positions for an enormous trading book at JP Morgan earned him the aforementioned nickname among hedge funds and investors.

Mr. Iksil and two of his bosses were fired after the CIO suffered losses following their bets on corporate credit derivatives. Top executives were also rattled, including CEO Jamie Dimon and the Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew, who has since stepped down.