Scott+Scott Files New Class Action Complaint in Foreign Exchange Lawsuit
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
NEW YORK, July 31, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP
announces that it has filed a Second Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint
on behalf a proposed class in In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust
Litigation, Case No. 1:13-cv-7789 (S.D.N.Y.). When the original complaint was
filed in November of 2013, plaintiffs alleged that since 2003, financial
institutions had conspired to manipulate the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates in
the $5.4 trillion-per-day foreign exchange market.
As a result of cooperation obtained from certain settling Defendants, the
complaint now alleges a broader conspiracy - one that affected dozens of
currency pairs, including the seven pairs with the highest market volume, and
impacted trading both over the counter and on exchanges. More specifically, the
Complaint alleges that from as early as 2003 and continuing through 2013, the
world's major banks used multiple chat rooms - with names such as "The Cartel,"
"The Bandits' Club," and "The Mafia" - to communicate with each other. As the
Complaint explains, "[b]eing a member of certain chat rooms was by invitation
only, indicating the secret nature of this conduct. These electronic chat rooms
replaced the classic, smoke-filled backrooms of the past." In these chat rooms,
defendants used code words to avoid detection.
The plaintiffs allege that defendants manipulated the FX market in at least
three separate respects. First, defendants fixed prices by agreeing to widen
bid/ask spreads on FX spot trades. Bid/ask spreads represent the difference
between the price at which a bank will buy a currency and the price at which it
will sell it, and are a source of profit for banks. As the Complaint describes,
"there are thousands of communications involving multiple Defendants reflecting
discussions about FX spreads." It goes on to explain that "[t]hese
communications show traders at more than 30 banks, including Defendants,
participated in interbank chats where traders coordinated and exchanged
information about spreads or customer orders."
Second, plaintiffs allege that defendants manipulated FX benchmark rates,
including the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates and European Central Bank's FX
Reference Rates, as well as CME/Emerging Markets Traders Association Russian
ruble/U.S. dollar rates. As the new Complaint explains "[c]hat room
communications demonstrate Defendants exchanged confidential customer
information and coordinated their trading to manipulate these key rates."
Finally, defendants exchanged key confidential customer information in an effort
to trigger client stop loss and limit orders. They exploited these types of
orders by manipulating prices to move the market to levels that triggered the
stop-loss or limit orders.
In addition to adding broader allegations of unlawful behavior, the Complaint
accuses four defendants that were not previously named. Bank of Tokyo-
Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Société Générale S.A., and
Standard Chartered plc, have been added to the list of banks that the Complaint
alleges conspired to manipulate the FX market, bringing the total number of
defendants to sixteen.
"Our complaint makes clear that the conspiracy to manipulate the FX market was
long-running and pervasive," commented David R. Scott, Managing Partner of
Scott+Scott. He added, "we hope that that our new complaint helps to rid this
market of unlawful and harmful manipulation."
The new Complaint follows four settlements that Scott+Scott previously
announced, all of which included cooperation provisions as well as monetary
relief. In May 2015, Scott+Scott announced a settlement with Citigroup Inc. and
Citibank, N.A. that requires it to pay $394 million, while also providing
cooperation to the plaintiffs in their prosecution of claims against the
remaining defendants. In April 2015, Scott+Scott announced a settlement with
Bank of America Corporation and Bank of America, N.A. that includes $180 million
in monetary relief and cooperation. In March 2015, Scott+Scott announced that
it had reached a settlement with UBS AG, UBS Group AG, and UBS Securities LLC
for $135 million, in addition to their cooperation. In January 2015, the firm
announced a settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and JPM Chase Bank, N.A. for
$99.5 million, in addition to their cooperation. All told, the settlements
disclosed to date amount to $808,500,000.
Scott+Scott, an internationally recognized law firm, prosecutes high-stakes
antitrust and securities lawsuits throughout the United States on behalf of
institutional investors, businesses, and corporations. It has offices in New
York, California, Connecticut, and Ohio, and the firm recently announced the
opening of its first European office in London.
Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP
(800) 404-7770
(860) 537-5537
scottlaw(at)scott-scott.com
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Scott+Scott LLP via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1943038]
Datum: 01.08.2015 - 01:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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