Rivals may have helped rogue trader

THE trader accused of blowing a £530m hole in Allied Irish Banks may have been helped by officials at rival banks. Reports at the weekend said AIB's investigation was focused on the Far East, where many of John Rusnak's suspect foreign exchange trades took place, and the US.

Bank of America and Citibank are among those banks involved in the investigation, the Sunday Times reported. There is no evidence to date to suggest that either bank helped Rusnak.

The FBI is also investigating the affair. Rusnak was a foreign exchange trader at AIB's Allfirst subsidiary in Baltimore. His lawyer says he has done nothing wrong and that Allfirst's internal checks are to blame.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that AIB has approached rival banks, including Barclays and HSBC, for advice on tightening its internal controls. AIB chief executive Michael Buckley has insisted internal controls were adequate. But the bank had planned to centralise its treasury operations in Dublin for almost a year.