Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Banks under investigation in South Africa over alleged currency manipulation have hired the largest law firms in the country to advise them on the probe.
Bowman Gilfillan, ENSafrica and Webber Wentzel, three of the so-called big five legal firms, are assisting banks targeted in the Competition Commission probe, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup, Barclays Africa Group [JSE:BGA], Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] and Investec [JSE:INL] are among 11 companies suspected by the regulator of using electronic messaging software to coordinate foreign exchange deals when quoting prices to customers, the commission said on May 19.
The investigation may have been triggered by a bank seeking to mitigate any measures taken against it for market misconduct, Nick Altini, the head of law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s competition practice, said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Cliffe Dekker and Norton Rose Fulbright complete the Big Five group.
“The most likely scenario is that one of the firms being investigated has been advised that what they’re doing is illegal and that they could seek leniency by becoming a whistleblower,” Altini said. The probe could last between two and four years, he said.
The banks face fines of as much as 10% of their South African turnover, according to the Competition Amendment Act. The law has not made collusion a criminal offence.
Webber Wentzel declined to comment. Bowman Gilfillan and ENSafrica were not immediately available for comment.
