The "Cartel" British-based currency trading company was recently charged by the US Department of Justice for manipulation of $5.3 trillion every day in the foreign exchange.
Three prominent traders were charged with conspiracy to alter prices of foreign currencies mainly the US Dollar and the Euro. The traders, Chris Ashton, Rohan Ramchandani and Richard Usher, are all previous employees of renowned trading companies. The group's fourth member, Matt Gardiner, is known to have been aiding the Depart of Justice.
Sally Yates, the deputy attorney-general, is said to have quoted "no one gets a free pass simply because they were working for a corporation when they broke the law". She further added that the indictment was proof that the DoJ is committed to ensuring individuals are held accountable for misconduct in the corporate field.
The "Cartel" charges were placed as part of an ongoing investigation in forex rigging. The deputy associate attorney-general said that the financial institutions have been previously convicted for being part of this misconduct. Regardless, now the DoJ seeks to hold the conspiring individuals accountable.
The fine and penalty of these charges is a million dollars and 10 years of jail-time. Additionally, the fine may be revised to reach a maximum of twice the profits gained from the crime or else double the amount lost by victims if the sum is larger than $1 million.
The Department of Justice will see new administration come January 20th and hence is determined to follow the numerous investigations that are still on the books. After the new President of the United States Donald Trump takes the Presidential seat, the administration will change.
The aforementioned four traders used to refer to themselves as "Mafia" and "Cartel" during the exchange of messages in chatrooms, quotes the Financial Times. As part of this scandal, some of the largest banks have paid heavy fines amounting to a total of $10 billion.
The four traders' lawyers have moved to state their deepest disappointment at the indictment.
