Two former foreign exchange traders have been charged in a Singapore court for allegedly conning their respective banks and creating losses worth almost $370,000.

Two foreign exchange traders have been charged in a Singapore court for allegedly conning their respective banks and creating losses worth almost $370,000, according to the Straits Times of Singapore.

The men are said to have traded US dollars in November 2009 at rates unfavourable to their banks - either buying the US currency at a rate above the market price, or selling at a price below it. These were trades the banks would not have authorised, the report said.

The men, both Singaporeans, made all their transactions with trading accounts that belonged to relatives, it said. Ivan Chng Kian Wee, 46, faces 149 charges under the Securities and Futures Act. Then a senior dealer with HSBC bank, he allegedly transacted with his wife's account and made a wrongful gain of $229,198 after taking into account brokerage fees. (The news article did not stipulate whether the amount was in Singapore or US dollars.)

Toh Hway Khuan, 49, faces 39 charges under the same law, the report said. As a spot trader with Deutsche Bank, he is said to have gained $138,790 by transacting with an account jointly owned by his brother and his wife, it said. Pre-trial conferences for both men's cases have been fixed for 13 February, it added.

All the alleged offences were committed between 2 November and 30 November, 2009.