U.S. Said to Ready Charges Against Banks in Forex Rigging
U.S. prosecutors are pressing to bring charges against a bank for currency-rate rigging by the end of the year, and actions against individuals will probably follow in 2015, according to people familiar with the probe.
While federal prosecutors have wrested convictions from foreign banks this year for wrongdoing, they’ve yet to win a guilty plea from a U.S. lender in that push, and they’re preparing for strong resistance if they attempt to do so.
Starting currency-rigging prosecutions this year would help the Justice Department keep pace with European regulators.
Attorney General Eric Holder, in his final speech about financial crime before announcing plans last month to step down, said the currency probe was advancing quickly thanks to undercover cooperators and would probably result in charges against bankers in the coming months.
Investigators are looking into allegations that traders shared data about orders with people at other firms using instant-message groups with names such as “The Cartel” and “The Bandits’ Club.”
In the case against Deutsche Bank AG. (DBK), prosecutors examining whether Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank rigged the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, have started coordinating with U.S. regulators to limit any impact on the firm’s business in the event they do pursue a guilty plea from the company or a subsidiary, one of the people said.
Source: bloomberg- U.S. Said to Ready Charges Against Banks in Forex Rigging
