US: Silver price manipulation claims hit top banks

A lawsuit has been filed in the US against three of the world’s largest banks accusing the lenders of manipulating the silver benchmark.

According to reports, J Scott Nicholson filed the suit against HSBC, Deutsche Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia for fixing silver prices by abusing their positions on the board that sets the daily benchmark for silver prices across the world. The suit claims the banks violated antitrust law and the Commodity Exchange Act.

Nicholson, an investor, is reportedly looking to represent a class of other investors who bought silver future contracts; the suit claims the banks colluded to manipulate silver prices since 2007.

”The extreme level of secrecy creates an environment that s ripe for manipulation,” Nicholson said of the silver benchmark-setting process.

HSBC and Deutsch Bank did not comment on the matter; the Bank of Nova Scotia said it would “vigorously defend” itself against the allegations.

Full content: City AM

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