The London Whale case has continued to escalate and draw headlines, after the identity of a junior assistant was improperly disclosed by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority in an earlier report in conjunction with a JPMorgan Chase & Co. fine.
Per the latest development, the FCA lost an identity case vs. Julien Grout, who had worked under Bruno Iksil, also known as the ‘London Whale’. Iksil previously racked up more than $1 billion in fines for JPMorgan Chase & Co after losing upwards of $6.2 billion on large bets – subsequent investigations have cast light on JPMorgan’s Risk Management systems and controls.
Back in June, Mr. Grout sued the FCA after claiming to be improperly identified in a report on the overarching scandal. In that instance, the FCA had failed to properly anonymize Julien Grout in a penalty notice accompanying a £138 million fine against the lender back in 2013.
Consequently, Mr. Grout’s legal team has claimed victory over the FCA, citing improper disclosure, according to a London tribunal ruling. He maintains the opportunity to respond to the allegations in the Financial Conduct Authority’s penalty notice from 2013. To date, Mr. Grout has been able to avoid US charges by remaining in France, which has abstained from extraditing the French citizen.
The latest announcement is the first in several months, since the FCA imposed a fine on a former senior banking executive at JPMorgan, Achilles Macris, who formally served as the head of JP Morgan’s CIO (Chief Investment Office) International. Earlier this year he was dealt a fine of £792,900 in relation to his business conduct when communicating with the UK watchdog.
