Corbiere and Trenchant Ltd say maths graduate Ke Xu could use stolen computer code worth more than £30m if sent overseas

Hedge fund managers have failed to prevent the deportation of a convicted City analyst from China – nicknamed the billion-dollar brain – who, it is alleged, will exploit stolen computer code if sent overseas.



The highly unusual application by two firms, Corbiere and Trenchant Ltd, to keep Ke Xu in Britain was turned down by the high court on Wednesday.



Xu, who graduated from Cambridge University with a starred first-class degree, was convicted in 2015 of the theft of confidential intellectual property from his employers.



He was sentenced to four years imprisonment, at the end of which the Home Office intends to remove him from the UK on the grounds that he is a foreign criminal.



The hedge funds fear that such a brilliant ‘quant’, as quantitative analysts are known, has memorised or hidden secret trading algorithms that he may sell to rival businesses if allowed abroad.

Lawyers for the home secretary, Amber Rudd, told the court that deporting Xu as a “foreign criminal” would be conducive to the public good. Xualso wants to be allowed to leave the UK.



The investment firms argued there should be no deportation until August 2018 at the earliest. The code he is accused of stealing is said to be worth more than £30m.



Mr Justice Supperstone handed down his decision on Wednesday after hearing arguments over the issue at the high court in London in November. The judgment said that Xu had “dishonestly removed 55 confidential strategies”.

Born in China, Xu won a scholarship to the Raffles School in Hong Kong. He is in his thirties and has also worked at Goldman Sachs.

During the criminal trial the court heard that he quit Trenchant precipitately, leaving a farewell note in the office explaining that he wanted to join his new wife in Hong Kong and to be close to his father, who was ill.



A further highly unusual feature of the criminal trial is that it was conducted as a private prosecution by lawyers representing Trenchant Ltd.



Xu was made the subject of a serious crime prevention order. He claimed, however, that he had taken no copies and that all his computers had been passed to his parents in China and were lost or destroyed.



James O’Hara, a solicitor at the law firm Khan and Partners, who represents Xu, said his client was pleased with Supperstone’s ruling.



“Mr Xu accepted taking intellectual property,” O’Hara said. “He received a period of imprisonment as a punishment. He is a Chinese national and simply wants to return home. He has not seen his family for a number of years.”



Lawyers for the hedge funds are expected to challenge the judge’s ruling in the court of appeal.