Citigroup, Deutsche and ANZ hit with cartel charges
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, ANZ, and a number of their senior executives have been charged with criminal cartel offences by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The charges lay out that ANZ and each of the charged individuals were knowingly concerned in some or all the alleged cartel conduct regarding trading in ANZ shares held by Deutsche and Citigroup following an ANZ institutional share placement in August 2015.
The senior executives charged were John McLean, Itay Tuchman and Stephen Roberts of Citigroup, Michael Ormaechea and Michael Richardson formerly of Deutsche Bank, and Rick Moscati of ANZ.
ACCC chair, Rod Sims, said the charges were the result of an investigation by the Commission that spanned over two years. They follow an announcement last week that the Commonwealth DPP was intending to commence proceedings against the above parties.
The matter was listed before the Downing Centre Local Court on 3 July, 2018. The trial would proceed by way of indictment before the Federal Court or a Supreme Court though, as required by the Competition and Consumer Act.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was also investigating the ANZ share placement to determine whether an announcement by the bank in August 2015 should have stated that the joint lead managers took up approximately 0.91 per cent of the total shares on issue at the time.
The ACCC would not be commenting further as the matter was now before the courts.
Recommended for you
The central bank has announced its latest rate decision amid stubborn inflation and increasing geopolitical tension.
Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the QAR reforms.
ASIC now has a 1:1 ratio when it comes to court success in the enforcement of crypto activities and more action is expected as Treasury seeks to introduce a regulatory framework.
A leading governance body has hit out at “specialist interest groups proposing ad hoc law reform” when it comes to reforms of financial services legislation and believes an independent body is needed.
