Citigroup trader 'suspended for stealing food from staff canteen'

A high-flying Citigroup bond trader has been suspended from the US investment bank following claims he stole food from the office canteen.

Paras Shah is accused of helping himself to food without paying at the company's European headquarters in London's Canary Wharf.

The 31-year-old reportedly left his post as Citi's head of high-yield bond trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the alleged theft last month, according to the Financial Times.

He joined Citi just over two years ago from HSBC and his job involved trading junk bonds - risky company debt.

According to employee review website Glassdoor, the average salary for a credit trader is £183,740 - but Mr Shah is likely to have earned more given his senior role at Citi.

A banking source told the Press Association news agency a similar position at other banks could command a salary of more than £1m a year.

Mr Shah's suspension reportedly comes weeks before senior staff at Citi were due to be paid bonuses.

His LinkedIn profile says he graduated with an honours degree in economics from the University of Bath in 2010.

He joined HSBC's fixed-income trading division the same year, before joining Citi in 2017.

Paste BN has attempted to contact Citigroup for comment.

It is not the first time a worker in London's financial district has faced allegations of personal misconduct.

In 2014, Jonathan Burrows, who was a London-based managing director at US investment firm BlackRock, was found to have repeatedly dodged full price train fares from his home in East Sussex for several years.

The Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation and subsequently banned him from taking senior roles in the City after it emerged he had paid £43,000 to Southeastern Railway in a settlement to avoid prosecution for repeated fare-dodging.

It was claimed he only paid £7.20 for a Oyster card single ticket in London instead of the standard single fare of £21.50 from Stonegate.