Former colleagues say the British trader arrested in connection with the 'Flash Crash' played markets like a 'video game'

Navinder Singh Sarao, the British trader who was arrested Tuesday in connection with the 2010 "Flash Crash" that saw US markets plunge 9% for a 20-minute period, treated markets "like a video game," according to former colleagues who spoke to the Times.

The Times says Sarao previously worked at a proprietary trading outfit called Futex.

Here's a snippet from the article, which paints Sarao as somewhat of a cheapskate despite the insane profits he was allegedly raking in:

Mr Sarao rarely arrived in the office, in Woking, before 10am so that he could avoid having to pay peak train fares. He would sit at his desk with a hoodie pulled up, rarely eating before late in the afternoon so that he could avoid paying for a full-price sandwich.

The contrast between the parsimonious man in front of the screen and the profits or losses of up to £500,000 on the screen became a source of mirth among fellow traders in the office. Adam Whiting, a Futex trader who sat next to Mr Sarao for six months, wrote yesterday on Twitter: "One thing I will say is Nav used to wear a tracksuit every day, even when an early millionaire!"

There's also a comment from a neighbour which matches the Financial Times' report that Sarao drove a battered green car.

It certainly doesn't sound like Sarao was living the usual lifestyle of someone making the sort of cash US authorities are claiming he did.