BNY Asks to Toss U.S. Fraud Case Over Currency Trading

Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s largest custody bank, contested claims by the U.S. that it defrauded clients in foreign-exchange transactions and asked a court to dismiss the government’s lawsuit.

BNY Mellon said disclosures that it made to clients about the trading negate the claim that the bank engaged in a “scheme to defraud,” according to a court filing yesterday in federal court in Manhattan.

“The purported scheme to defraud is implausible,” BNY Mellon said. “A party that knows exactly what it is getting, and at what price, cannot have been defrauded.”

The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said in an amended complaint that BNY Mellon defrauded clients, including public pension funds, of more than $1.5 billion through foreign-currency trades. The bank is also facing claims by several states over the same issue.

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment on BNY Mellon’s filing.

The case is U.S. v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK), 11-6969, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: David McLaughlin in New York at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Pickering at jpickering@bloomberg.net.