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12 November 2012

Video: Barclays trader hurls abuse at construction workers

Olivier Desbarres fired after a video of him yelling abuse at construction workers in Singapore was posted online.

By Caroline Crampton

A Singapore-based Barclays trader has been fired after a video showing him hurling abuse at construction workers was posted online.

The clip shows Olivier Desbarres, who was formerly head of foreign exchange strategy for Asia Pacific at Barclays, shouting at men working on a building site next to his home in Singapore. He refers to them as “animals, Chinese fucking animals” and says “I’m going to burn your fucking house down with your fucking people in it.” Watch it here (warning: very strong language):

According to the Wall Street Journal, the workers’ firm has filed a police complaint, and the incident is being investigated. The WSJ report also confirms that Barclays executives did see the footage before deciding to fire Desbarres.

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