British HSBC banker arrested at JFK airport over £2.7billion exchange rate scam 'shouted "Oh f****** Christmas" as he made £6million profit'

HSBC executive Mark Johnson, 50, who splits his time between London and New York, was held by federal agents as he tried to board a UK-bound flight and thrown in a Brooklyn jail. He was released last night after paying his $1million bail (left and right with his attorney outside court). Prosecutors say he and a colleague made a £6million profit by rigging the market at the expense of a client. Johnson, who heads his bank's foreign cash team, is said to have hailed the deal with the words: 'Ohhh f****** Christmas.' And he allegedly wrote a message to his co-accused Stuart Scott, 43, which read: 'Seems they're starting to bite.' The pair are said to have messaged each other to discuss how they could 'ramp up' the price of sterling. HSBC was not tipped off about Johnson's arrest. The US authorities are understood to have moved quickly to avoid having to deal with an extradition process. Scott, who no longer works for the bank, was not detained in the US, and has been charged in absentia. An arrest warrant has been issued.