US Govt, FX Cartel clash again over evidence in market manipulation case
The US Government insists that it has already provided the former FX traders with all the discoverable information in its possession and does not want to rush with a “sneak preview” of evidence it will use at trial.
The evidence spat between the United States Government and Richard Usher, Rohan Ramchandani, and Christopher Ashton, also known as the FX Cartel or FX Mafia, continues, with the latest argument among the parties in a case over Forex market manipulation concerning the timing of production of certain evidence by the Government.
As FinanceFeeds has recently reported, the ex-traders push for speedy disclosure of evidence by the Government although their trial was rescheduled from June 4, 2018 to October 1, 2018.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2018, the Government replied to the request by the defendants. In a Letter sent to Judge Richard Berman of the New York Southern District Court, the Government says that it has thus far complied with the Court Orders with regard to evidence disclosure.
In particular, starting in August 2017 and concluding in January 2018, the Government has produced to the defendants all discoverable information in its possession, custody and control that will enable the former traders to view and use trading data. Those disclosures include:
- A full set of EUR/USD trading data from the conspirators’ banks and EBS platform from the relevant time period.
- Notes from discussions with bank and EBS representatives concerning how the trading data is compiled and how to understand and interpret trading data.
- Notes of witness interviews in which the witness explicitly discussed trading data in connection wit collusive episodes.
In sum, the Government insists that all parties in this case possess the same trading data, documents and resources. The defendants had asked for four more months to review the information prior to trial and were granted that time.
Currently, according to the Government, the only thing the defendants lack with respect to trading data is a sneak preview of the evidence the Government will use at trial. But this information is set to be provided much closer to trial and not in line with the deadlines suggested by the defendants. That is why, the Government requests that the Court directs that the remaining disclosures are due July 6, 2018 and August 10, 2018, instead of April 16, 2018 and June 18, 2018 (the dates proposed by the defendants).
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, have pleaded not guilty to the accusations brought by the US authorities.
The case is captioned USA v. Usher et al (1:17-cr-00019).
