Which trader was convicted of contributing to the 2010 Flash Crash through spoofing orders?

Navinder Singh Sarao was convicted of contributing to the 2010 Flash Crash through spoofing orders.

On May 6, 2010, major U.S. stock indexes plunged and recovered within minutes. The event became known as the Flash Crash. Investigators later focused on large, rapidly canceled sell orders in E-mini S&P 500 futures, a contract traded electronically on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

British trader Navinder Singh Sarao was accused of using spoofing, the practice of placing orders to create a false impression of supply or demand without intending to execute them. In 2016, he pleaded guilty in the United States to criminal charges connected with market manipulation and wire fraud.

Sarao’s conduct was not considered the sole cause of the crash. Official investigations identified interacting factors, including high-frequency trading, stressed market conditions, and liquidity withdrawal. His case is therefore best understood as one documented contribution rather than a complete explanation.