Submitted by Michael Krieger of LibertyBlitzkrieg
Now regulators from Bern to Washington are examining evidence first reported by Bloomberg News in June that a small group of senior traders at big banks had something else on their screens: details of each other’s client orders. Sharing that information may have helped dealers at firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., UBS AG and Barclays Plc, manipulate prices to maximize their own profits, according to five people with knowledge of the probes.
At the center of the inquiries are instant-message groups with names such as “The Cartel,” “The Bandits’ Club,” “One Team, One Dream” and “The Mafia,” in which dealers exchanged information on client orders and agreed how to trade at the fix, according to the people with knowledge of the investigations who asked not to be identified because the matter is pending. Some traders took part in multiple chat rooms, one of them said.
“Some of these problems developed over many years without anybody speaking up,” said Andrew Tyrie, chairman of Britain’s Commission on Banking Standards and Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee. “This is remarkable. It suggests something very wrong with the culture at these institutions.”
– From the 2013 post: Meet the “Bandits’ Club” – The TBTF Wall Street Cartel Rigging the FX Market
Serious question: Is there any illegal activity that someone at Barclays hasn’t been accused of engaging in?
Bloomberg reports:
A former Barclays Plc director was accused by the U.S. of giving tips about future mergers and acquisitions to a plumber friend in exchange for cash and home renovations.
Steven McClatchey, 58, who worked in the investment-banking division, told the plumber about 11 impending mergers and acquisitions from March 2014 to August 2015, the government said. The plumber wasn’t named.
McClatchey and the plumber met in 2011 or 2012 at the Long Island marina where both dock their boats, according to the complaint. By 2013, they spent most Saturdays at the marina or, in cold weather, playing pool and watching sports in McClatchey’s garage. The plumber used tips from McClatchey to make $76,000 trading stocks including Questor Pharmaceuticals Inc., PetSmart Inc., Emulex Corp. and Omnicare Inc., the government said.
The WSJ adds:
Steven McClatchey, 58, was a former employee at Barclays, the bank confirmed. Prosecutors said he worked for seven years at the Manhattan office of Barclays, where he was responsible for tracking the bank’s involvement in potential mergers and acquisitions. He distributed a weekly document to select Barclays employees called “M&A Global Weekly Business Update,” which included deals that were likely to become public the following week.
Government officials allege Mr. McClatchey gave tips to his friend who worked as a plumber ahead of more than 10 separate mergers and acquisitions before they became public, including deals involving PetSmart Inc., CVS Health Corp. and Duke Energy Corp.
The plumber allegedly paid Mr. McClatchey, in part, by providing “home renovation” services free of charge.
* * *
The two men became friends about four years ago, when they met at the Long Island marina where they both docked their boats. They began to spend most Saturdays together, the complaint said. The first tip Mr. McClatchey gave Mr. Pusey came around 2013 or 2014, when Mr. McClatchey allegedly told the plumber to “keep an eye on a particular company because something good was going to happen,” according to the complaint. Based on the tips, Mr. Pusey bought securities in at least 11 companies, prosecutors said.
Barclays said. that “we have rigorous and extensive conduct and compliance training at Barclays which we underpin with a steadfast commitment to acting with integrity and respect.”
Of course you do.
For related articles, see:
- Meet the “Bandits’ Club” – The TBTF Wall Street Cartel Rigging the FX Market
- Epic Video: “The Intruders” Crash Banker Award Ceremony and Give Barclays the Libor Rigging Award!
- “Bank Lives Matter” – Obama Administration Makes Another Move to Protect Profits of Criminal Mega Banks
via http://ift.tt/1RJP2pz Tyler Durden