73,000 sign petition against deportation of rogue trader
More than 73,000 people have signed a petition against the deportation of a former UBS trader who was jailed for fraud in 2012.
Kweku Adoboli was found guilty of two counts of fraud that resulted in losses of £1.4 billion and was released after serving half of his seven-year sentence.
Since then he has been involved in teaching at several universities and working with the Forward Institute which aims to promote responsible leadership.
The 38-year-old left Ghana at the age of four and has lived in the UK since he was 12.
More than 73,000 people have signed a petition against his removal and 114 MPs and MSPs wrote a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid urging him to intervene in the case.
A group of supporters and friends gathered outside Parliament on Thursday.
Mr Adoboli’s partner Alice Gray said she has visited him every day since his detention and that he is “in good spirits”.
“Despite being told that he’s not allowed to be here – which is not true, he is from here, he is a product of this system too – I’m proud of him that he still goes on fighting,” she added.
“He deserves to be here, he’s doing incredibly important work.”
Mr Adoboli was detained during a fortnightly check-in at Livingston Police Station, West Lothian, on September 3 and taken to Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in South Lanarkshire.
He is being moved to Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre at West Drayton on Thursday evening and faces being put on a deportation charter flight to Ghana on September 18.
His lawyer Jackie McKenzie said the deportation policy is “hostile and it is clearly linked with Windrush”.
“We need to look a the case in the contest of what has happened with Windrush,” she added.
“I think there is racism in this deportation policy – nearly everyone who is deported is not white. Generally I do think it’s racism underpinning the deportation policy.”
She described Mr Adoboli as a “remarkable person” and added: “I’ve not seen a case like it.
“He is de facto British – all his main relationships and friendships are in the UK.
“Kweku doesn’t even speak his native languages in the way he would be required to to work in Ghana.”
The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
A spokesman added: “All foreign nationals who are given a custodial sentence will be considered for removal.
“Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.”
