South African: Competition Commission gets forex probe underway

The Competition Commission has officially commenced an investigation that promises to reveal the so-called forces behind currency manipulation and the devaluation of the rand in recent years

While Competition Commission (CC) spokesperson Itumeleng Lesofa has confirmed to Business Report that the probe has started, he declined to comment further, saying “detailed information” concerning the status of the investigation could not be divulged.

The investigation follows multi-billion-dollar fines imposed by US and UK authorities against six major global financial institutions implicated in currency manipulation last year.

The banks, that were collectively fined $5,6 billion (R92,4 billion), include JPMorgan Chase, Barclays Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Citigroup who all pleaded guilty to foreign exchange manipulation as well as UBS AG and Bank of America.

The banks were found to have influenced currency prices on a near daily basis via chatrooms over a period of five years.

“The Commission’s investigation is focusing on trade in currency pairs involving the South African rand,” it said in a statement released last year.

“The alleged collusion, the ‘ZAR domination’, was carried out through electronic messaging platforms used for currency trading.”

Full content: IOL

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