For Traders Who Spoofed Years Ago, a New Ruling Spells Trouble
- Deutsche Bank judge backs fraud charge, stretching time limit
- New attention to market conduct predating 2014 U.S. crackdown
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U.S. prosecutors are starting to build cases against traders suspected of manipulating markets as long as a decade ago, after an obscure legal ruling extended the statute of limitations for spoofing cases.
In October, the judge presiding over the impending trial of two former metals traders ruled that the U.S. government can pursue charges of wire fraud as well as spoofing against the pair. The decision addressed a long-running legal debate about whether the placing of electronic market orders with the intention of canceling them constituted a form of “false representation” and therefore fraud.