Credit Suisse Must Face NYC Currency Rigging Suit

A US judge on Tuesday, February 1, refused to dismiss a class-action lawsuit by investors accusing Credit Suisse Group of conspiring to rig prices in the approximately US$6.6 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market, reported Reuters.

Credit Suisse is the last bank defendant remaining in the antitrust litigation that began in 2013, after 15 others reached US$2.31 billion of settlements.

US District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan said it was premature to accept Credit Suisse’s claim that it was not part of a single global conspiracy to widen foreign exchange spreads.

But she also rejected the investors’ bid to hold Credit Suisse liable, saying the question of whether there was a single conspiracy or multiple smaller conspiracies must be answered before determining whether and how Credit Suisse might have been involved.

“Questions remain about the scope of the shared illegal goal and extent of the conspirators’ mutual dependence and assistance,” Judge Schofield wrote.

Credit Suisse stated it believed it had strong defenses against the claims. “We continue to believe that Credit Suisse has strong legal and factual defenses, and we look forward to establishing those at trial,” the bank said in a statement.

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