Brash Kuwait trader was boastful dealmaker

His phone calls could come at any time - during trading hours, close to midnight or on weekends - but they always had the same message: "Hi, Hazem here. I have a major scoop for you."

And after the third call or so, news agency Reuters reporter Ulf Laessing managed to track down the mystery Kuwaiti who spoke perfect English and always bragged about his work.

Hazem Khaled al-Braikan, who died from a single gunshot wound to the head on Sunday in what police said was an apparent suicide, was at the centre of a lawsuit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched against him and other Gulf Arab finance firms. He was 37.