A former trader at Royal Bank of Scotland is being scrutinized by UK regulators for alleged manipulation of currency markets by sending instant messages to traders at other firms.
Richard Usher, currently JPMorgan Chase & Co’s chief dealer in London, wrote instant messages while he was at Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
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Usher and the group of traders in the chat sessions referred to themselves under names, including the Bandits Club and The Cartel.
The chat messages to traders at other firms included details of his trading positions and RBS has handed over those chat records involving Usher to the FCA.
The regulatory authorities are scrutinizing electronic messages used by currency traders as part of an investigation of potential manipulation of the US$5.3 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market.
The various aspects investigators are looking at is the practice of currency fixes, daily snapshots of prices for currencies that are used by money managers and others for valuing portfolios.
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By GlobalDataSeparately, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has also opened a criminal probe into possible rigging of currency markets.
RBS, JP Morgan, Barclays and UBS AG were the firms already fined about US$2.6 billion for rigging the London interbank offered rate.
