What I like about this story is that it equates risky stock market trading with gambling. Which it is, in my opinion. It's just that somehow trading stocks is perfectly acceptable (and frequently uses the same terminology as gambling), while placing a well educated bet is widely thought of as unacceptable.
Here are some excerpts from the story, as reported by the Scotsman (United Kingdom):
"A 32-year-old worker at a large international engineering company stole more than £9 million from his firm to feed a gambling addiction, it emerged today.
"Wing Kit Chu, of Dell Close, Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, carried out a "well planned series of thefts" over a four year period from Charter Plc, police said.
"He then used the money for spread betting on the financial markets, such as the Nasdaq and the FTSE.
"Chu pleaded guilty to the theft of £9,080,939 when he appeared before a judge at Southwark Crown Court today. Sentencing was adjourned until January 14, pending reports.
"…Chu, who worked in Charter's finance division at its central London offices, would use other employees' computer passwords to log on as them and authorise the payments, he said.
"He then transferred the company's money to an account he held with a spread betting firm, before using the cash to bet on whether the financial markets would go up or down…"
Man Steals 9 Million for Gambling
