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For almost two decades, Einar Aas was the most successful trader on one of Europe’s largest power markets. He was also a phantom.

Every other trader knew his name, but hardly anyone had actually ever met him. The 47-year-old didn’t attend trader meetings, conferences or other industry gatherings. Instead, he spent most of his time at home, making huge bets on Nordic power from his house in Grimstad, a small seaside town three hours south of Oslo. There he amassed a fortune trading on his own account — in 2016 it was enough to make him the single biggest taxpayer in Norway. This year, he made one big bet too many.

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Once the kingpin of European electricity trading, activity on the world's oldest power market is now languishing

On Thursday, Nasdaq Inc., whose financial Nordic power market is used by more than 160 traders from across northern Europe, announced it had expelled Aas after he racked up millions of euros of losses he couldn’t make good.

Aas is incredibly shy. He bought a huge house on the water in 2004 and later spent many millions on buying up properties around it to ensure his privacy. He appears never to have given an interview. Attempts to reach him since the scandal broke were unsuccessful.