WASHINGTON- U.S. authorities have charged three individuals over allegedly participating in market manipulation in the trade of precious metals including gold, silver, platinum and palladium between 2008 and 2016, the Department of Justice said on Monday.
The three men – two current metals traders and one former trader who worked for two unnamed banks and one unnamed financial services company – were charged with a racketeering conspiracy and other federal crimes, it said in a statement.
The defendants "and their co-conspirators allegedly engaged in a complex scheme to trade precious metals in a way that negatively affected the natural balance of supply-and-demand,” Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Assistant Director William Sweeney said in the statement. "Not only did their alleged behavior affect the markets for precious metals, but also correlated markets and the clients of the bank they represented," said Sweeney, who works in the FBI's New York Field Office.
Representatives for the three men could not be immediately reached for comment.
The case was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois, and was unsealed on Monday, the Department of Justice said.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edmund Blair) ((202-898-8300; Reuters Messaging: susan.heavey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
