Rurik Jutting's junior is now running a London start-up
Rurik Jutting, the former structured equity finance vice president at Bank of America in Hong Kong, was today found guilty of killing two women and sentenced to life in prison. Jutting, who has an IQ of 137, was found to be suffering from narcissistic personality disorder, sexual sadism disorder, cocaine use disorder, and alcohol use disorder. In sentencing him, the judge said Jutting had been, "morally corrupted by drugs, pornography, and alcohol and a life of debauchery with a huge salary to fund his depravity."
The case's conclusion will come as good news to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which has steadfastly refused to comment on its former employee. Jutting was working at BAML in Hong Kong until the day after he committed the first murder. After murdering the second woman, Jutting reportedly called his boss at BAML and said, "I am in a lot of trouble, you need to do something about the reputation of the bank.”
Neither Bank of America as an organisation nor Jutting's colleagues were in any way implicated in his actions, but unfavourable publicity from Jutting case and questions over the tax-focused trading strategies employed by the structured equity finance and trading (SEFT) team, seem to have hastened its demise. The Wall Street Journal reported last November that Jutting's former team in Hong Kong had been shuttered, leaving many of his ex-colleagues to find new jobs.
Some of those who worked most closely with Jutting are now back in London. His former boss, Monuhar Ullah, joined ICBC Standard Bank in London as head of equity financing in September. Insiders say Jutting had two juniors, one of whom. Alex Gilbert, left BAML in Hong Kong in April 2016 and is now running Cuvva, a London based start-up which produces an app for buying car insurance by the hour.
Jutting graduated from Cambridge University in 2008. Prior to joining BAML in London in 2010 he spent two years working in structured equity capital markets for Barclays. During the court case it emerged that Jutting's internal transfer to BAML's Hong Kong office in 2013 followed an audit investigation over a tax product he was trying to sell to a client in Luxembourg while he was in London. As a result this investigation, Jutting was reportedly told to "curtail his activities" and flagged as a "serious risk" to BAML. Jutting subsequently failed to turn up to work and an office junior was sent to determine his whereabouts. BAML sent him to Hong Kong nonetheless. In Hong Kong, Jutting reportedly worked 16 hour days and barely slept. Sources allege that Jutting interviewed for a role at Goldman Sachs prior to murdering the two women. Goldman is said to have turned him down.
Ullah and Gilbert's early careers followed a similar path to Jutting's. Like Jutting, Gilbert studied at Cambridge and joined Barclays in London before moving to Bank of America in Hong Kong in February 2015. However, Jutting left Barclays a month after Gilbert arrived. Ullah also worked for Barclays and is said to have met Jutting at the British bank in London before working with him at BAML in Hong Kong.
Although Bank of America's SEFT team was officially dismantled last November, insiders suggest the team is still partially operating under a different name.
Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com
