It looks like Russia's Renaissance Bank is experiencing its own small version of the Société Générale rogue trader scandal, as a young man placed several unauthorized trades on the market right before the crash, losing the group about $10 million. From the NYT Dealbook Blog:
A Russian business newspaper, Vedomosti, reported that the institutional client had encouraged a trader on the equities desk, identified as Anton Stenin, 28, to place the bets in early September in violation of risk rules, at a time when many thought the stock market was poised to rebound after a dip during Russia’s conflict with Georgia the month before. Instead, it declined further as the global financial crisis set in. The client was unable to make margin calls. Mr. Stenin left the company before the brokerage firm learned of the unauthorized trading. The institutional client was not identified.An official with knowledge of the transactions told The Times that Mr. Stenin was trading in Russian blue-chip stocks.
