AS Nicholas W. Leeson sits in a Singapore prison, Lisa Leeson has been loyally supporting him. But often, when a rogue trader or financier gets caught, the marriage cannot survive the strain.
And a long road lies ahead for the Leesons: thousands of miles away from his wife, the flamboyant former trader has completed just one year of his sentence, including credit for time spent in a Frankfurt jail awaiting extradition to Singapore.
A look at some of the best-known financial fraudsters of recent years and their wives at the time -- those reached declined to be interviewed -- suggests that money and proximity are important if a marriage is to survive and that unresolved legal problems can remain a huge strain. If the financier continues to be a good provider, even from prison -- and, most important, can stay close to his wife geographically -- the couple seem to have a better chance.
