6 banks guilty of market rigging,who's going to jail?NO ONE.

[youngturk]

Six of the world’s biggest banks will pay $5.8 billion and five of them agreed to plead guilty to charges tied to a currency-rigging probe as they seek to wind down almost half a decade of enforcement actions.

Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros, according to settlements announced by the Justice Department in Washington Wednesday. The main banking unit of UBS Group AG agreed to plead guilty to a wire-fraud charge related to interest-rate manipulation. The Swiss bank, the first to cooperate with antitrust investigators, was granted immunity in the currency probe.

The four banks that agreed to plead guilty to currency charges are among the world’s biggest foreign-exchange traders. They were accused of colluding to influence benchmark rates by aligning positions and pushing transactions through at the same time. Traders who described themselves as members of “The Cartel” used online chat rooms to discuss their positions before the rates were set and suppress competition in the market, the Justice Department said.

All of the banks that pleaded guilty said they received needed waivers from the Securities and Exchange Commission to continue managing mutual funds and raise capital quickly, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Six Banks Pay $5.8 Billion, Five Guilty of Market Rigging - Bloomberg Business

 

[Helix]

6 banks guilty of market rigging,who's going to jail?NO ONE.

yep.

my question :

if corporations are people with all of the constitutional rights that a person has, why does no one go to jail when a corporation is convicted of a felony offense?

 

[CanadaJohn]

If the only penalty that the leadership of banks such as this receive a figurative slap on the wrist and the payment of shareholders' dollars, there will never be any real disincentive to criminal activity. Even if prosecutions end up being unsuccessful, dozens of people involved should be perp-walked to the nearest jail, fully charged, and tried to the fullest extent of the law. Anything short is a disgrace.

What happened to prosecutions like Enron and Conrad Black? When was it decided and by whom that bankers are not only too big to fail but too big for the long arm of the law?

Bounce a couple of checks and see how quickly these same bankers have you charged with kiting and or fraud.

 

[GottaGo]

If the only penalty that the leadership of banks such as this receive a figurative slap on the wrist and the payment of shareholders' dollars, there will never be any real disincentive to criminal activity. Even if prosecutions end up being unsuccessful, dozens of people involved should be perp-walked to the nearest jail, fully charged, and tried to the fullest extent of the law. Anything short is a disgrace.

What happened to prosecutions like Enron and Conrad Black? When was it decided and by whom that bankers are not only too big to fail but too big for the long arm of the law?

Bounce a couple of checks and see how quickly these same bankers have you charged with kiting and or fraud.

When you 'manipulate currencies' to your uncountable profit, and suffer, as you stated, a slap on the wrist, there IS no disincentive.

The hell with a pathetic penalty and the perp-walk. Your company is disbanded, the assets forfeited, and the funds used to pay towards the national debt.

 

[CanadaJohn]

When you 'manipulate currencies' to your uncountable profit, and suffer, as you stated, a slap on the wrist, there IS no disincentive.

The hell with a pathetic penalty and the perp-walk. Your company is disbanded, the assets forfeited, and the funds used to pay towards the national debt.

I appreciate your sentiment, but I can't go that far. There shareholders, including many pension funds and individual retirement accounts, that have investments in these institutions and there are precious few, if any, who've had any idea what was going on. I don't believe they should suffer any more than the financial penalty applied which presumably represents the financial gain they enjoyed from the criminal activity. It's the leaders who authorized and performed the criminal acts who should personally suffer severe penalties, in my view, not the shareholders.

 

[joG]

I appreciate your sentiment, but I can't go that far. There shareholders, including many pension funds and individual retirement accounts, that have investments in these institutions and there are precious few, if any, who've had any idea what was going on. I don't believe they should suffer any more than the financial penalty applied which presumably represents the financial gain they enjoyed from the criminal activity. It's the leaders who authorized and performed the criminal acts who should personally suffer severe penalties, in my view, not the shareholders.

There is a question of compensation for those the bank defrauded. I do not know, how that will be handled. The individuals are all around the world as were the payments.

 

[GottaGo]

I appreciate your sentiment, but I can't go that far. There shareholders, including many pension funds and individual retirement accounts, that have investments in these institutions and there are precious few, if any, who've had any idea what was going on. I don't believe they should suffer any more than the financial penalty applied which presumably represents the financial gain they enjoyed from the criminal activity. It's the leaders who authorized and performed the criminal acts who should personally suffer severe penalties, in my view, not the shareholders.

While I can understand what you are saying, the shareholders also benefited from the illegal activities. Liquidate their shares at the lowest price prior to the (known) illegal activities, and call it done.

Why should people benefit from these activities? While yes, the head muckity-mucks should bear the heaviest brunt, no one should be allowed to continue benefitting from a company that permitted the illegal activities.

 

[Kushinator]

While I can understand what you are saying, the shareholders also benefited from the illegal activities. Liquidate their shares at the lowest price prior to the (known) illegal activities, and call it done.

Why should people benefit from these activities? While yes, the head muckity-mucks should bear the heaviest brunt, no one should be allowed to continue benefitting from a company that permitted the illegal activities.

The majority of shareholders are hedge funds, pension funds, exchange traded funds, etc.... At its core, the "illegality" stems from market makers not competing with each other to offer counter-parties and clients better spreads. Instead of punishing people who had nothing to do with the fiasco, it would be easier to split up these to-big-to-regulate-until-after-the-fact entities.

 

[CanadaJohn]

There is a question of compensation for those the bank defrauded. I do not know, how that will be handled. The individuals are all around the world as were the payments.

The compensation, presumably, is considered part of the fine, unless of course a class action lawsuit is filed in the US, which is not out of the question.

 

[joG]

The compensation, presumably, is considered part of the fine, unless of course a class action lawsuit is filed in the US, which is not out of the question.

The fines are rather high. But giving money to government does not make an investor whose interest income was lower than should have been.