By Jamie McGeever and Kirstin Ridley
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland currency trader Paul Nash has become the first individualarrested in connection with a global inquiry into allegedmanipulation in the foreign exchange market, sources familiarwith the matter said on Thursday.
Nash, who was suspended by RBS in 2013, was named by thesources as the man arrested in Billericay, southeast England, onDec. 19. One of the sources said his arrest came only daysbefore he emigrated to Canada.
Nash emigrated to Canada on Christmas Day and has rented outhis family home, the source said. His arrest was not byappointment, as is typical in such cases, but was an "arrest andraid", the source added.
Nash, who has not been charged with any offence, appeared atWestminster Magistrates' Court on Dec. 23 over variations to hisbail conditions, a court official confirmed. These included thathe would reside at a specified address in British Columbia.
Attempts to reach Nash via LinkedIn were unsuccessful.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said only that a48-year-old man had appeared at the London court on Dec. 23 inconnection with a global investigation into allegations ofmanipulation in the $5.3 trillion-a-day forex market.
The increasingly aggressive agency, which is preparing forthe trials this year of individuals alleged to have manipulatedglobal benchmark interest rates, said last July that it mightfile the first charges in the high-profile inquiry this year.
About 30 forex traders have been put on leave, suspended orfired as prosecutors and regulators continue to examineallegations of wrongdoing in the world's largest market.
RBS, a state-backed British lender that has been reviewingthe conduct of more than 50 current and former traders, said inDecember that six employees could face disciplinary action.
It declined to comment further on Thursday.
The bank was one of six lenders fined a combined $4.3billion by regulators last November for failing to stop traderstrying to manipulate currency markets.
The other banks to settle British and U.S. regulatoryallegations of failings were HSBC Holdings, JPMorganChase & Co, Citigroup, UBS and Bank ofAmerica Corp.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Reserve and NewYork's financial regulator are among those still investigatingbanks over foreign exchange trading in an inquiry that has putthe largely unregulated market on a tighter leash andaccelerated the push to automated trading. (Additional reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by DavidGoodman)