Porridge on the menu? Criminal trial for 5 former Barclays FX traders to be held this week

The Serious Fraud Office continues to bring criminal trials against interbank FX traders long after the regulatory censuring concluded with fines for some of London’s largest institutions totaling several billion for FX benchmark and LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) manipulation. In November 2014, authorities in the US, Britain and Switzerland issued major banks whose traders […]

Criminal trial for 5 former Barclays FX traders

The Serious Fraud Office continues to bring criminal trials against interbank FX traders long after the regulatory censuring concluded with fines for some of London’s largest institutions totaling several billion for FX benchmark and LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) manipulation.

In November 2014, authorities in the US, Britain and Switzerland issued major banks whose traders manipulated FX benchmarks with a collective $4.3 billion in fines, and several class action lawsuits ensued, however Britain’s law enforcement departments have now begun to bring their criminal investigations to court.

In a very high profile case recently, former Yen derivatives trader Tom Hayes was jailed for 11 years, having his initial sentence of 14 years shortened following an appeal. Following his incarceration, he was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution, the gavel falling on that particular court case last week.

This week signals the arrival in court of Jonathan Mathew, Stylianos Contogoulas, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon and Ryan Reich, who the Serious Fraud Office alleges manipulated LIBOR rates between June 2005 and September 2007.

This is the third criminal trial of this nature brought about by the Serious Fraud Office, and, as with many of these particular cases, is likely to be a long, drawn out affair.

The case will open today at Southwark Crown Court, and will be heard by Judge Anthony Leonard QC, a very prominent juror in the UK, having presided over cases involving top media entities and high profile celebrities.

Clearly, whilst Britain’s regulatory authorities continue to convene in order to attempt to keep pace with technological and cultural change in the financial sector and ensure that the legal framework adapts and modernizes quickly – not an easy task as development cycles are so rapid these days that regulators have to attempt to introduce new laws within shorter times than in analog world under which they were established, Britain’s law enforcement agencies are coming down hard on those who go against the market benchmarks.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Terra founder Do Kwon arrested in Montenegro

Terra (LUNA) co-founder Do Kwon, the South Korean entrepreneur facing charges over the $40 billion wipeout of the stablecoins he created, was reportedly arrested in the region of Podgorica, Montenegro.

Metaverse Gaming NFT

Orbs Ecosystem Developers Launch TON Access To The Public

The TON Access service provides reliable and decentralized RPC nodes to decentralized applications (dApps).

Digital Assets

Bybit celebrates listing of Arbitrum (ARB) token with $400K prize pool

“At Bybit, we recognize our responsibility to provide forward-thinking opportunities for our users and lead the way in supporting the proliferation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.”

Digital Assets

StormGain launches StormGain DEX, a non-custodial alternative to its centralized exchange

StormGain DEX becomes accessible once a user connects their own non-custodial wallet and trades directly, with all orders settled on-chain.

Retail FX

OANDA launches CFDs on UK and US stocks for retail clients in emerging markets

“Interest in CFDs has been surging globally as they offer traders and investors the opportunity to profit from price changes without owning the underlying assets. CFDs give exposure to markets that are trending downward as well as upward, allowing traders to take positions even when volatility is high.”

Institutional FX

Bitpanda’s stocks, commodities, crypto now available to banks partnered with Visa

“We are excited to welcome Bitpanda to Visa’s Fintech Partner Connect Program. The partnership will assist banks to integrate an asset trading platform for crypto and other assets within their banking app.”

Industry News

Exchanges agree on global framework for designating stocks and shares as green

“Investors should be able to have greater visibility of issuers who have green activities in a way that is rigorous and that counters greenwashing. Exchanges strive to bring clarity, consistency, and rigor to the concept of green and to counter greenwashing.”

Institutional FX

90% UK participants worry of trade failures, penalties, inefficiencies arising from US move to T+1

“By embracing automation and digital transformation, firms can enhance their middle- and back-office systems and gain a competitive edge”, said Brian Collings, CEO, Torstone Technology.

Industry News

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Kendra Lust, Ne-Yo, Akon charged by SEC in crypto fraud case

“Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation. This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.”

<