Citibank #RandRging fine less than 10% of income

Johannesburg – The Competition Tribunal has confirmed Citibank’s

settlement of R69.5 million for its role in the forex cartel.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Tribunal says the

fine does not exceed 10 percent of Citibank’s annual turnover in South Africa.

The fine follows a complaint initiated by the Competition

Commissioner in 2015.

The Tribunal explains the agreement was postponed after a

March 22 hearing as the Tribunal had asked for additional information from the

Competition Commission regarding the percentage of Citibank’s turnover on which

the fine is based.

Citibank

admitted that, between September 2007 and October 2013, Citibank and its

competitors manipulated the price of bids and offers through agreements to

refrain from trading and creating fictitious bids and offers at particular

times, assisted each other by allowing a trader with a large open risk position

to complete his trades first before trading and through

holding and/or pulling their trades to reserve liquidity for each other instead

of trading normally in the market.

Citibank additionally admitted to fixing bids, offers and

bid-offer spreads in relation to spot trades on rand currency pairs through

co-ordination/alignment of the bids, offers, and bid-offer spreads quoted to

customers. 

Read also:  CitiBank settlement details 'confidential'

In terms

of the settlement agreement Citibank will appear as a witness at their

competitor’s hearings and, according to the Commission, Citibank has already

begun supplying information that is helpful to the Commission’s investigation.

Citibank

also undertakes to not engage in any future conduct in contravention of the

Competition Act and continue its existent implementation

programmes.  

Citibank

is the first of the banks reach a settlement agreement with the Commission in

the complaint the Competition Commission v Bank of America Merrill

Lynch and seventeen others lodged with the Tribunal.

Barclays Africa has been conditional immunity by the Commission

from prosecution in return for its continuing cooperation in the probe.

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