Kweku Adoboli deported to Ghana

Former UBS trader, Kweku Adoboli who was convicted of fraud has been deported to Ghana after a long legal battle by his lawyers and diverse group of supporters to keep him in Britain.

Report from The Guardian suggests that Adoboli was put on a flight from Heathrow airport on Wednesday afternoon by Home Officials after he was arrested in Glasgow on Monday, and later taken to Harmondsworth immigration removal centre to begin procedure of his deportation.

According to reports, Kweku Adoboli was not informed about when and how he would be deported but on Wednesday afternoon he was taken by five member escort to Heathrow airport and was due to be put on a flight at about 5pm to be returned to Ghana, where he has not lived since the age of four.

Speaking to the Guardian, he vowed to continue his fight from Ghana to be allowed to live in the UK again. Mr. Adoboli called on the Home Office to implement a key recommendation that will allow foreign national offenders who have lived in the UK since childhood to not be deported.

“This Home Office policy to deport people who have been here since childhood is destroying the fabric of our society,” he said. “So many people are saying that this policy is too draconian. Even City commentators are saying that.”

Now 38, Kweku Adoboli moved to reside in the UK at the age of 12 and was schooled both in high school and university. He lost his most recent legal challenge when he sought permission at the immigration court for a judicial review of the refusal of his latest application to remain in the UK.

He was jailed for seven years in 2012 after being found guilty of fraud that cost UBS $2.3bn (£1.8bn) but was given reprieve later released after serving half his sentence.

Adoboli’s legal team argued that after he served his sentence for banking fraud, he had dedicated himself to public speaking and hosting workshops about improving probity in the finance sector, and warning people against making the kind of errors he did while working for UBS and has since been working with the Forward Institute, which promotes responsible leadership in business and society.

Adoboli’s lawyer, Jacqueline McKenzie, of McKenzie Beute & Pope, said: “The home secretary should recognise that he has the discretion to look at a case again even though a deportation order has been made. He chose to maintain his position so the ongoing merits of deportation could not be scrutinised by an independent judge.

He should recognise this rather than hiding behind the intention of parliament to deport foreign nationals or claiming justification in the public interest.”