New charges against banks in currency manipulation probe
The Competition Commission has filed a new charge sheet against 28 banks to the Competition Tribunal for allegedly manipulating the rand.
The new referral also accuses Nedbank Group, Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Americas Inc of manipulating the rand-dollar trading.
The commission says its investigation found that the banks directly and indirectly manipulated trade of the currency pair.
Spokesperson Siyabulela Makhunga says the new referral follows a ruling by the Competition Appeal Court in February where the it dismissed the banks’ appeal to dismiss the charges.
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"The main contention of the banks on appeal was that the competition authorities of South Africa do not have jurisdiction over their activities as they took place outside of South Africa, in New York City in particular.
"The CAC ordered, among other things, that the commission must file a new referral to replace all the previous ones, and that the new referral must demonstrate that the behaviour of the banks to manipulate the USD/ZAR currency pair had a direct and immediate effect on the South African consumers and the economy.”