The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that competition authorities can pursue forex-rigging claims against six banks including JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and HSBC, clearing the way for a full hearing of allegations that global lenders colluded to manipulate the rand more than a decade ago.
The ruling preserves one of South Africa’s largest market-manipulation cases after years of litigation.
The case forms part of a wider global crackdown on foreign-exchange rigging that dates back more than a decade. That crackdown resulted in some of the world’s biggest investment banks paying more than a combined $11-billion in fines to settle US, British and European regulatory allegations that traders manipulated currency rates for years.
The Competition Commission first referred the case to the Competition Tribunal in 2017, alleging traders at major banks coordinated trading activity in the US dollar-rand market between 2007 and 2013, largely through private online chatrooms.
Full hearing
In a judgment handed down by Justice Owen Rogers, the court confirmed that the case will proceed to a full hearing against BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase & Co, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Investec, Standard Americas Incorporated and HSBC Bank.
JPMorgan, BNP and HSBC declined to comment. Investec and Standard Americas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The claim alleges that Standard Chartered, Citibank, Absa and Barclays were also involved, but those banks have already settled or secured leniency.
Among the banks to settle the case, Standard Chartered admitted to prohibited conduct and paid more than R42-million in 2023.
Attempts by the commission to revive claims against a range of other lenders, including Bank of America , Standard Bank, Nomura, Commerzbank, Nedbank, FirstRand and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, failed.
The case ruled on by Constitutional Court on Tuesday will now return to the Competition Tribunal, where the allegations are set to be tested on their merits for the first time since the commission launched proceedings nearly a decade ago.
- South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that competition authorities can pursue forex-rigging claims against six banks, including JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas, and HSBC.
- The case involves allegations that these banks colluded to manipulate the rand in the US dollar-rand market between 2007 and 2013, primarily through private online chatrooms.
- This legal action is part of a global crackdown on foreign-exchange rigging, which has already led to over $11 billion in fines paid by major investment banks in the US, UK, and Europe.
- The Competition Commission initially referred the case in 2017, and the Constitutional Court's ruling allows for a full hearing against BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase, Investec, Standard Americas Incorporated, and HSBC Bank.
- Some banks like Standard Chartered, Citibank, Absa, and Barclays have settled or received leniency, while attempts to revive claims against other lenders were unsuccessful.
