The British financial regulator told the markets on Thursday that it intends to finish the probe into the suspected foreign exchange manipulation in 2015, though it cautioned that the complexity associated with the investigation made the timing hard to predict.
“That is certainly our target,†said Martin Wheatley, the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) in a press briefing after the regulator’s first AGM since it was established in April. “But I do know that these things are very complicated and with Libor, it has taken a number of years, so even 2015 would be a relatively short time-scale given the difficulties and complexities of these cases,†he said, referring to a previous investigation into the alleged rigging of benchmark interest rates.
Other watchdogs in Asia, Europe and in the United States are currently investigating the possibility of foreign exchange benchmark manipulation.
Last month, U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office chief David Green disclosed that his office had received information related to the investigation. This fuelled talk that FCA’s probe into the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market had uncovered evidence of criminal misdemeanor, reported Reuters.
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Meanwhile, James Watson, who headed the Foreign Exchange Transactions for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for Thomson Reuters and its Forex partner FXall, has resigned to join an undisclosed company.
Watson previously worked as Head of EMEA at FXall since 2012 before taking up the role of Head of FX Transactions for EMEA at Thomson Reuters after FXall was sold to Thomson Reuters in 2012. Prior to joining FXall, Watson worked in various senior roles at Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale. To register for a free 2-week subscription to ForexMinute Premium Plan, visit www.forexminute.com/newsletter.
To contact the reporter of this story; Yashu Gola at yashu@forexminute.com
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