Tennis lessons, limited resources, no coverage from Barclays: ex-FX trader faces dull reality
With five months left until the start of the trial against ex-Barclays FX trader Christopher Ashton, he encounters US Court’s stark opposition to keeping his counsel, as “pro bono” does not work anymore.
As the start of the trial of former Forex traders Richard Usher, Rohan Ramchandani, and Christopher Ashton, also known as the FX Cartel or FX Mafia, approaches, reality becomes duller for them.
Earlier this month, Judge Richard Berman of the New York Southern District Court has decided to publish a Letter sent to him by David Schertler, a counsel for Mr Ashton, a former Head of Spot FX at an affiliate of Barclays PLC. The Letter asked the Court to appoint David Schertler as a counsel for Ashton under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). The Judge, however, ruled that “the Court does not feel it is appropriate to convert defense counsel to CJA counsel and have his fees paid by the public”. Putting it otherwise, Mr Ashton has to take care of the fees associated with the case himself.
But this is not the single aspect of reality that “bites”.
In the letter sent to the Court, Schertler says Barclays’ insurer has refused to cover any fees related to the case against Mr Ashton.
“When we took on the representation of Mr. Ashton in March 2017, we believed that there was a strong possibility that his legal fees would be indemnified by the insurer for his former employer, Barclays PLC, or, at the very least, that the parties would reach a settlement to cover some of the costs of trial. On March 22, 2018, however, Mr. Ashton learned that the insurance company will definitively not provide any coverage”.
Further, the letter makes it clear that “Mr. Ashton is now self-employed and currently works as a tennis instructor at his local sports center”.
Ashton’s case is complex, says his lawyer, and notes that “it would be a significant financial burden for us to handle such a large case on an entirely pro bono basis”. How (and whether) Ashton will be able to handle the situation remains to be seen, as the start of the trial, scheduled for October 1, 2018, approaches.
Usher, former Head of G11 FX Trading-UK at an affiliate of Royal Bank of Scotland plc, as well as former Managing Director at an affiliate of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ramchandani, former Managing Director and head of G10 FX spot trading at an affiliate of Citicorp, and Ashton, former Head of Spot FX at an affiliate of Barclays PLC, are alleged to have conspired to manipulate the FX market by “coordinating their bidding, offering, and trading” at “certain times.”
The case is captioned USA v. Usher et al (1:17-cr-00019).
