Bipolar banker blows millions, gets jail

An Austrian banker who speculated away 6.4 million euros ($9.1 million) in bank and customer funds was sentenced to a three-year jail term on Wednesday but only has to serve one year because he has a bipolar disorder.

The 44-year-old adviser to rich eastern European customers was sacked in 2008 after the bank discovered he had hived off funds into accounts under fictitious names and lost the money on highly speculative trades, the Austrian Press Agency reported.

Psychiatric studies showed the man suffered from a bipolar disorder -- a mental illness marked by sharp mood swings and erratic behaviour -- which the court in Vienna acknowledged as extenuating circumstances when meting out his punishment.