U.S. Department
of Justice
FX Spot Market Manipulation Press Conference
Press Conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch speaks at the press conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
“For more than five years, traders in “The Cartel” used a private electronic chatroom to manipulate the spot market’s exchange rate between euros and dollars using coded language to conceal their collusion. They acted as partners – rather than competitors – in an effort to push the exchange rate in directions favorable to their banks but detrimental to many others.” – Attorney General Lynch
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division speaks at the press conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division speaks at the press conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office speaks at the press conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Director Aitan Goelman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division speaks at the press conference on Foreign Exchange Spot Market Manipulation
Photo credit: Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice
Five major banks – Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and UBS AG – have agreed to plead guilty to felony charges. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Director Aitan Goelman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division made the announcement.
Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the foreign currency exchange (FX) spot market and the banks have agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $2.5 billion. A fifth bank, UBS AG, has agreed to plead guilty to manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other benchmark interest rates and pay a $203 million criminal penalty, after breaching its December 2012 non-prosecution agreement resolving the LIBOR investigation.
Press Release: Five Major Banks Agree to Parent-Level Guilty Pleas