A trader at Swiss bank UBS pleaded not guilty on Monday to losing 1.7 billion € in fraudulent trades in London, clearing the way for a trial later this year.

Kweku Adoboli, 31, the son of a Ghanaian former UN official, also pleaded not guilty to a further charge of false accounting and two counts of fraud as he appeared in Southwark Crown Court in London.

Adoboli spoke only to enter not guilty pleas.

Judge Alistair McCreath set a provisional trial date of September 3 and remanded Adoboli in custody.

He worked for UBS's global synthetic equities division in the City of London financial district, buying and selling funds which track different types of stocks or commodities such as precious metals.

He was arrested at the bank's offices on September 15.

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said in November that the bank was committed to "addressing the causes" of the incident.

UBS was hit by colossal losses during the US subprime loan crisis and has struggled to rebuild its business.