MR Peter Young, the former star fund manager at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management, was charged with conspiracy to defraud by the UK Serious Fraud Office yesterday - almost two years after he was dismissed from the company.

Mr Young was also charged with offences under the Financial Services Act for his alleged involvement in a unit trust scandal that has cost Deutsche Bank, Morgan Grenfell's parent company, more than £400 million sterling.

The bank was fined £2 million, one of the biggest penalties levied by a City regulator.

Mr Young was originally suspended for breaching investment guidelines in the unit trust he managed by making irregular speculative investments. Fiba, which was set up in 1994, is alleged to have bought many of these unlisted securities for the trust.