Competition Commission waiting for Standard Charted plea
British multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered has pleaded guilty in New York to manipulating currencies, including the rand, between 2007 and 2013
The Competition Commission’s Sipho Ngwenya says the bank was fined R550 million but is yet to plead in South Africa.
In February 2017, the commission referred a number of banks to the Competition Tribunal over a price-fixing scandal.
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"We prosecuted 18 banks for manipulating the rand and that includes Standard Charted. But what has happened so far is that Standard hasn't pleaded to the merit of the case, they have asked for further particulars," says Ngwenya.
Only Citi Bank has pleaded guilty and has been fined R70 million, but is awaiting other banks to acknowledge their part in the scam.
"These banks are competitors and they came together to manipulate the rand. They are fixing the prices of the currency by conniving together and also deceiving the customer."
The matter is currently before the tribunal.
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