London 'Cartel' Traders Plead Not Guilty on Forex Rigging Charges

Three ex-traders at the heart of criminal investigations over their participation in the chatroom 'The Cartel' have pleaded not guilty to charges of rigging foreign Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term rates in the latest case of global 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 market manipulation.

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The three men are Chris Ashton, former Global Head of Spot Trading at Barclays, ex-JP Morgan dealer Richard Usher, and Rohan Ramchandani, formerly of Citigroup. They reached an agreement with US prosecutors last month to surrender voluntarily and are facing the charges at a New York court hearing.

The former traders appeared today before US District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan, all charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade from the end of 2007 through to the beginning of 2013. The goal of the conspiracy was to suppress and eliminate competition in the trading of the euro and the dollar in the US, UK and Switzerland.

For this purpose, they allegedly created a chat group dubbed 'The Cartel' to coordinate the trading of US dollars and euros and manipulate the prices of the exchange rates, according to the charges.

The federal judge ordered the trio to next appear after four months then stand trial at a Manhattan court on June 4, 2018. Berman has set bail at $200,000 for Ashton, $1 million for Ramchandani and $650,000 for Usher.

The indictments against the UK citizens came after US authorities came under open criticism for not prosecuting any traders involved in the FX rigging scandal since it broke out in 2013, although they did impose multi-billion dollar fines against major banks.

Back in March 2016, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office looked at the same evidence and decided not to bring charges, citing insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

Lawyers for the traders criticized the US for moving forward with the case but said that that they will voluntarily travel to New York to defend themselves and will deny any wrongdoing.