U.S. federal grand jury indicts London-based 'flash crash' trader

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - London-based day-trader Navinder Sarao has been formally indicted by a U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . federal grand jury on charges of market manipulation that prosecutors say helped contribute to the 2010 "flash crash," according to a Sept. 2 court filing made public on Thursday.

The Justice Department first announced the filing of criminal charges against Sarao in April and is seeking to have him extradited to the United States to stand trial.

Sarao is accused of using an automated trading program to "spoof" markets by generating large sell orders that pushed down prices. He then canceled those trades and bought contracts at lower prices.

In August, Sarao was freed on bail from a British jail. He was granted bail in April shortly after his arrest, but was not able to pay it because U.S. authorities had frozen his assets.

He is also facing parallel civil charges by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Sandra Maler)