Former HSBC Forex trader seeks to serve bulk of sentence in the UK
Mark Johnson, former global head of the Forex trading desk at HSBC, seeks to serve the bulk of his sentence in the UK. This becomes clear from the latest filings with the New York Eastern District Court.
Let’s recall that, in October 2017, a jury convicted Johnson of seven counts of wire fraud and one count of wire fraud conspiracy, arising from a Forex transaction that he engineered in his former role at investment bank HSBC. On April 26, 2018, this court sentenced Johnson principally to 24 months’ imprisonment.
Now, as the date for the surrender of the former trader looms closer, he is pushing to serve most of his sentence in the UK.
The United States is a signatory to treaties with several countries, including the United Kingdom, that enable eligible foreign citizens who are convicted and sentenced in the United States to serve their sentences in their home countries. The primary objective of the “Treaty Transfer Program” is to enable prisoners to become “productive members of society” in their home countries after release.
The program “is premised on the universal understanding that a prisoner has the best chance of being successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into a society where a support system exists to assist the prisoner’s adjustment to life after incarceration.”
Mr Johnson is a United Kingdom citizen who resides in the UK with his wife and children. His counsel notes that “Mr. Johnson is deeply committed to his community and has devoted thousands of hours to public service since the Court permitted him to return to the UK on bail pending appeal in 2018. In short, Mr. Johnson’s life and his future are in the UK”.
According to the defense counsel, Mark Johnson is an ideal candidate to serve the bulk of his sentence in the UK under the Treaty Transfer Program.
To avoid this undue burden to Mr. Johnson and his family, the defense requests that the Court recommend that Mr. Johnson’s application for the Treaty Transfer Program be expedited. The US Government does not object to the Court’s making the requested recommendation.
Accordingly, on May 4, 2021, the Court recommended that the Bureau of Prisons expedite its review of Mr. Johnson’s application to participate in the Treaty Transfer Program. Also, the Court adjourned Mr. Johnson’s surrender date to June 16, 2021.
Let’s recall that, earlier this year, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the New York Eastern District Court nixed a motion by Johnson for compassionate release.