SA antitrust probe into rand-fixing collapses
South Africa’s Competition Appeal Court dismissed the cases against most of the 28 banks accused of colluding to fix the rand in the New York foreign exchange market almost a decade ago, Business Day reported, citing the tribunal.
The court ruled in favor of South African lenders including Standard Bank Group, Nedbank Group and FirstRand, and most of the foreign banks who faced the accusations, the Johannesburg-based newspaper reported on Tuesday. That leaves JPMorgan Chase & Co., BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings, Credit Suisse Group and Investec to face trial, according to the report.
The court criticized the case brought by the Competition Commission, saying it was inadequate and lacked evidence, according to the report. It made no order on costs.
The currency-manipulation saga began in May 2015, when the commission alleged that banks colluded to rig the value of the rand against the dollar. The inquiry followed a global probe into currency manipulation that was exposed two years earlier, triggering investigations in the US and the UK, and resulting in billions of dollars in settlements.
South Africa’s antitrust-watchdog revived the case against banks in 2020 after compiling a charge sheet against the more than 20 lenders that allegedly colluded to fix prices and divide markets in the currency pair.
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