Major Banks to Face Hearings in a London Court over a Forex Rigging Case

JPMorgan, Citigroup, Barclays, UBS, NatWest and MUFG Bank are facing hearings that started on Monday by a court in London in a multi-billion pound class action over an alleged Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term rigging case. According to Reuters, London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), a specialist court in the matter, will hold a series of five-day hearings to decide on whether the legal action can proceed or not.

The case is the first of its kind taking place in the United Kingdom, as the major banking institutions are accused of having participation over cartels named 'Essex Express' and 'Three Way Banana Split'. But, the European Commission already imposed fines on all the banks involved in the case, except for UBS, which already raised the red flag about the cartels. The penalties were more than $1.2 billion, imposed in 2019.

“This legal action will ensure that all affected entities, large and small, based in the UK and abroad, are able to obtain the compensation that they are owed,” Michael O’Higgins, the former Chairman of The Pensions Regulator, stated ahead of the hearing, whom together with Phillip Evans, a former inquiry chair at the Competition Markets Authority, will take the lead in the class action against the banks.

$11 Billion in Fines Paid by Investment Banks Globally

As of press time, fines were levied in 2019 as JPMorgan, NatWest and UBS claimed they since made changes to their controls. The CAT already instructed that there could be one representative for the British lawsuit. In figures, investment banks globally paid over $11 billion in settlements with regulatory entities on allegations that traders rigged foreign exchange markets.

Recently, ECU Group accused the multinational investment bank, HSBC, of fraud and misconduct within its Forex Trading Forex Trading Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying Read this Term desk between 2004 and 2006. The ECU Group claims that HSBC is responsible for having committed fraud related to 52 forex trades it placed with the bank in those years. The banking giant denied all the claims made by the currency manager.