A Second Morgan Stanley Trader Linked to FX Probe Leaves the Lender
A Second Morgan Stanley Trader Linked to FX Probe Leaves the Lender
(Bloomberg) -- A Morgan Stanley currency trader, whose unit was tied to an internal probe into suspected mismarking in 2019, has left the firm, the second such departure in recent months.
Rodrigo Jolig, who helped run the New York-based bank’s FX options business before being suspended amid an internal probe two years ago, was discharged in November after the investment bank disclosed allegations about his conduct, according to filings from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
The allegations against Jolig were linked to “valuation control processes and marking non-securities positions relative to profit and loss goals” and “communicating about affiliate business using an unapproved communication platform,” the Finra filing shows. The claims are similar to those levied against his former boss Thiago Melzer, the bank’s ex-head of FX options trading who was discharged in June, Bloomberg reported.
Jolig and Melzer were stars at the Wall Street lender until a series of complex transactions linked to the Turkish lira went awry in 2019, losing millions of dollars and prompting officials at the bank to investigate whether traders had been valuing the deals improperly, Bloomberg revealed at the time. The status of that review -- and its conclusions -- are unclear.
Mark Lake, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley in New York, declined to comment. Roberta Scrivano, a spokeswoman for Jolig, also declined comment.
Both Jolig and Melzer have since started hedge funds in their native Brazil, Bloomberg reported in September. Jolig is a partner in Alphatree Capital, a new hedge fund backed by the family of Brazilian property tycoon Elie Horn. Melzer has started a fund called Upon Global Capital, where he is chief investment officer.
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