(Bloomberg) -- A senior BNP Paribas SA banker who denies terrorizing subordinates on the trading floor is claiming $4 million compensation for unfair dismissal.
Omar Alami, the then head of BNP's equity derivatives sales for Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, was fired in 2019 after an internal report revealed that a rant at a trader he allegedly called “useless” and “incompetent” in front of colleagues over a potential 800,000 euro ($872,000) mistake wasn't an isolated outburst.
The document includes testimony from employees, with Alami accused of “emotional terrorism” and behavior that left one team member with “a feeling of waterboarding,” Aurelie Fournier, a lawyer for BNP, said at the Paris employment tribunal at a hearing last week.
Alami told the court that his response to the trader who'd confessed to the likely error on a 1 million-euro trade “was lively.” But, he added, “I was never humiliating, I was never insulting or aggressive.” He also disputed the other findings of the internal probe, saying the statements from co-workers were anonymous, making it difficult for him to counter them.
The lawsuit echoes a separate London case against UBS Group AG that's also raising questions about what's considered acceptable behavior on the trading floor. While the trader suing UBS described a “toxic environment” in which often bad-tempered colleagues would shout across the trading floor, the Swiss bank's lawyers suggested this kind of pressured atmosphere “is the unavoidable reality of the work of a City trader.”
BNP said in a statement that in the Alami case it took “all measures to protect its employees in accordance with the group's procedures.” The bank added that it doesn't tolerate behavior contrary to the respect and dignity of individuals and has measures to prevent, detect and combat any form of harassment or discrimination.
Coralie Ouazana, Alami's lawyer, said that several people who worked with him praised his kindness and added that during BNP's yearly evaluations of his client no one ever raised a concern about any aggressiveness.
Fournier said at the hearing that Alami was very good at his work but while the bank had noticed issues about his communications style and had paid for coaching lessons, it never suspected the depth of the concerns until the incident.
‘Deep Unease'
“It's quite rare for people on trading floors to speak up,” she told judges at the Paris employment tribunal. Some said they hadn't dared to before because they feared for their careers.
Fournier said the colleague who complained about Alami's alleged verbal attack had to be put on sick leave for two weeks after the incident.
“The repeated humiliations had the effect of degrading his working conditions for several months,” BNP said in the dismissal letter, according to Fournier. “Witnesses say he was very affected, that he came to the office in tears, expressing a feeling of deep unease.”
Ironically, the mistake that invoked Alami's wrath turned out to be a false alarm, according to Fournier.
Before his career at BNP unraveled, Alami had seen his pay rise over a decade from $65,000 to about $1.3 million a year.
Alami, who lives in Paris, found a new job in Switzerland less than a year after his dismissal.
“But I earn 60% less and spend 60% less time with my family,” he said.
A ruling in the case is expected for May 17.
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