Standard Chartered admits to currency manipulation, agrees to fine

Standard Chartered (OTC:) Bank (SCB) has reached a settlement with South African regulators by admitting to its involvement in the manipulation of the currency pair and agreeing to pay a fine of R42.7 million ($2.35 million). This agreement concludes an extensive eight-year investigation into currency manipulation by major financial institutions.

The bank acknowledged participating in bid and offer fixing, which directly impacted the exchange rate between the US dollar and South African rand. The Competition Commission’s probe, initiated in April 2015, implicated SCB along with over 20 other financial entities in market division and customer allocation related to ZAR currency pairs. The case was referred for adjudication in February 2017 after further entities were implicated in August 2016.

Commission spokesman Siyabulela Makunga confirmed the settlement was filed with the Competition Commission Tribunal today. The investigation uncovered that SCB and other banks utilized electronic communications protocols, including the Financial Information eXchange, to carry out market manipulation practices.

The respondent banks are currently before the Competition Appeal Court seeking to overturn a March 30, 2023 order from the Tribunal that requires them to respond to the complaint referral. Doris Tshepe, the Competition Commissioner, expressed approval of SCB’s decision to settle.

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