Two Former Deutsche Bank Traders Charged With Deceptive and Manipulative Trading Practices in U.S. Commodities Markets

Two former employees of Deutsche Bank AG, a global financial institution, were charged in an indictment returned by a Chicago federal grand jury yesterday with engaging in fraudulent and manipulative trading involving precious metals futures contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

James Vorley, 38, of the United Kingdom, and Cedric Chanu, 39, of France and the United Arab Emirates, were each charged in the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.  

The indictment alleges that Vorley and Chanu, who were employed as traders at Deutsche Bank AG—Vorley based in London; Chanu based in London and Singapore—engaged in a years-long conspiracy to defraud other traders on the Commodity Exchange Inc., which was an exchange run by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group.  The defendants and their co-conspirators, including former Deutsche Bank AG trader David Liew, are alleged to have defrauded other traders by placing fraudulent orders that they did not intend to execute in order to create the appearance of false supply and demand and to induce other traders to trade at prices, quantities and times that they otherwise would not have traded.  The indictment further alleges that Vorley, Chanu, Liew and others placed such fraudulent and manipulative orders by themselves and in coordination with other traders at Deutsche Bank AG, including each other.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  

This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office.  Assistant Deputy Chief Carol Sipperly and Trial Attorneys Michael T. O’Neill and Cory E. Jacobs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.