Pictured: TOWIE oil trader nicknamed 'Cuddles', part of a group of self-employed traders which made £487MILLION in a day - but now faces US trading lawsuit
A 'TOWIE' oil trader nicknamed 'Cuddles' has been pictured for the first time today after a firm based in the reality TV town made £487million in a day when the price of oil collapsed below zero during lockdown.
Vega Capital London is being sued in the US after nine self-employed traders, including three aged between 22 and 31, made between $30million and $100million each on April 20 from their homes near Brentwood when the price of a barrel of oil became negative.
Paul Commins, 52, is among others wrapped up in the lawsuit over price-fixing claims after a collective of 'TOWIE traders' took home up to $660million (£487m) in one day.
Legal claims have been filed in America against Vega, associated with the British traders, including three nicknamed Cuddles, Ari and Dog - but the extraordinary $660million day of trading during the first national lockdown only emerged in a Bloomberg report today.
Paul Commins is part of a group operating in affiliation with Vega Capital London, which now faces a US lawsuit over price-fixing claims after a collective of 'TOWIE traders' took home up to $660million (£487m) in one day when the price of oil collapsed below zero
Mr Commins is described as having a Cockney accent from a Guy Ritchie movie and was lampooned so much by colleagues because he pronounces 'three' as 'fwee' his IPE trading badge said 'F-W-E' for years, according to Bloomberg
Vega is a small oil trading outfit in a small office next door to a couriers business, a car parts firm and a locksmiths. Mr Commins and his associates made lucrative trades on the assumption the price of oil would collapse to record lows.
Law firm Simkins, representing the traders involved, insisted they had done nothing wrong and acted on a 'blaring' market signal.
Mr Commins earned the nickname 'Cuddles' during his time as a boss at the International Petroleum Exchange .
He is described as having a Cockney accent from a Guy Ritchie movie and was lampooned so much by colleagues because he pronounces 'three' as 'fwee' his IPE trading badge said 'F-W-E' for years, according to Bloomberg.
Vega is a small oil trading outfit in an office next door to a couriers business, a car parts firm and a locksmiths
Mr Cummins lives in a large detached mansion in Essex where he has a Range Rover with personalised number plates
Also in the drive of the £1.5 million property, which is lit up with Christmas lights and has a giant Santa figure, are a 2020-registered Porsche and another new Range Rover
He lives in a large detached mansion in Essex where he has a Range Rover with personalised number plates. Also in the drive of the £1.5 million property, which is lit up with Christmas lights and has a giant Santa figure, are a 2020-registered Porsche and another new Range Rover.
A friend of the West ham supporting multi-millionaire said at the house: ‘He doesn’t want to say anything’. But his neighbour Ray Cooney, the playwright who wrote the hit West End play “Run for your Wife’, said: 'He and his wife are very nice people and every summer they come to my home for a party.
‘It wasn’t possible this year because of the Covid situation, but we hope to have one next summer absolutely. They are very popular members of the neighbourhood. My wife and I are happy for him.’
Another neighbour and friend Susan Hutchings said: ‘I often see them walking their dog and they are always very pleasant and polite. They also raise money for charity and I know they have lived there for quite some time. They have a son called George. I’m really pleased that he has come into this money. Good luck to him.’
Mr Commins' neighbour Ray Cooney , the playwright who wrote the hit West End play “Run for your Wife’ said: 'He and his wife are very nice people and every summer they come to my home for a party'
On April 20, 2020, three traders in their twenties or early thirties, made $100million each. Another colleague made $90million and Mr Commins allegedly made $30million, with the remaining $240million going to four traders affiliated with the business, reported Bloomberg.
Traders working with Mr Commins - although it is not known if they share any monetary ties - include his son George, in his early twenties, and Chris Roase, a friend and trading veteran the boss knew from his City days who has the nickname 'dog'.
Others working through Vega are said to include Elliot Pickering, a 'skinny, awkward-looking' 25 year-old who lives with his mother and drives a Rolls-Royce convertible', according to Bloomberg, and Connor Younger, 22, the son of a builder.
One of the men said to have made $100million is reportedly 31-year-old Aristos 'Ari' Demetriou who, according to various publications, may have joined Vega after he met one of the traders while he worked pushing trolleys in a supermarket and asked how he could afford such a nice car.
Away from work, the group are said to spend time together watching their beloved West Ham United, playing golf or taking their families to Marbella in Spain, the resort beloved by TOWIE's stars.
Other traders involved are said to include Elliot Pickering, a 'skinny, awkward-looking' 25 year-old who lives with his mum and drives a Rolls-Royce convertible', according to Bloomberg, and Connor Younger, 22, the son of a builder. Pictured, the Vega office
It is alleged the traders all grabbed 'trading at settlement' contracts at around $18 per barrel allowing them to buy oil in May, at April 20 prices. Pictured, Mr Commins' home
Today it was revealed that businesses in the US have filed a class action against Vega claiming they were 'deprived of a lawful market'.
The case was started by Mish International Monetary, a cash, precious metals and jewellery dealership who claim traders working in association with Vega had worked to 'intentionally manipulate' the price of West Texas Intermediate futures contracts, losing them $92,490.
Mish International Monetary believe at least 12 traders 'aggressively' sold these future contracts 'for the purpose of depressing the price' all because they had 'a large financial incentive' to lower the oil price, the court filing says.
It is alleged the traders all grabbed 'trading at settlement' contracts at around $18 per barrel allowing them to buy oil in May, at April 20 prices.
Because the price became negative on April 20, instead of having to pay for the oil - they were paid for the contracts instead, making a fortune.
A British lawyer employed for a number of the traders told Bloomberg: 'Each of our clients regularly puts his own money at risk to try to make a profit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Vega is based on this rural Essex business park. Traders took home up to $660million (£487m) in one day, it was claimed today
The traders, including three nicknamed 'cuddles', 'dog' and 'Ari', bet heavily on the price of oil dropping because of Covid-19
'On April 20 blaring market signals, including the exchange's repeated warnings that prices could go negative, led market participants ranging from small proprietary traders to large financial institutions to trade on the assumption that prices would drop. And while no one could have predicted just how far they'd drop, each of our clients, like many others around the world, traded on his own view of the market.'
Vega's US legal team has urged a judge to throw out the case.
Their legal response says the class action has 'ignored the obvious explanation for the price volatility: the existence of the global pandemic, its effects on the demand for oil, the oversupply of oil, the lack of storage space ... the stay-at-home orders mandated by governments around the world, the loss of jobs suffered as a result of the pandemic, and the grave uncertainty that the world faced as it was in the midst of grappling with Covid-19'.
Last month it emerged that a key Senate Democrat, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, had urged US regulators to look at Vega's trades and consider if oil markets are susceptible to manipulation.
Brentwood entrepreneur Russell Quirk told MailOnline: ‘Essex remains the entrepreneurial capital of the UK. Some will of course critique the ‘Oil Oiks’ for such a brazen profit. Me? I think their ingenuity and bravery should be applauded and is an inspiration to future would-be wealth creators'.