#BUSINESS NEWS JANUARY 29, 2018 / 6:33 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

U.S. authorities charge three banks, eight individuals in futures 'spoofing' probe

Michelle Price
5 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department and the country’s derivatives regulator said on Monday they had filed civil and criminal charges against three European banks, which paid $46.6 million to settle the cases, and eight individuals for alleged manipulation in U.S. futures and commodities market.

UBS, Deutsche Bank and HSBC and former traders at the banks, as well as individuals at other firms, were charged following a large-scale multi-agency probe including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) into “spoofing” in metals and equities futures.

The case marks the first time the Justice Department and the CFTC had worked together, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to bring both criminal and civil charges against multiple companies and individuals, and underlined the authorities’ increasing focus on holding individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing.

Spoofing, which is a criminal offense under the 2010 Dodd- Frank financial reform law, involves placing bids to buy or offers to sell futures contracts with the intent to cancel them before execution. By creating an illusion of demand, spoofers can influence prices to benefit their market positions.

Deutsche Bank and UBS have agreed to pay $30 million and $15 million respectively to settle the civil charges in the case, while HSBC will pay $1.6 million, the CFTC said.

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