On July 17, 2017, three former foreign exchange traders, Richard Usher, Rohan Ramchandani and Christopher Ashton, voluntarily surrendered to the FBI and were arraigned for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to manipulate prices in the FX spot market. The one-count indictment alleges that, from at least December 2007 through at least January 2013, the three traders conspired to fix prices and rig bids for U.S. dollars and euros exchanged on the FX spot market, including by colluding around the time of certain benchmark rates known as fixes. The indictment alleges that the traders, who communicated largely through telephone calls and electronic chat rooms, were called “the Cartel” or “the Mafia.” United States v. Usher, 17-cr-00019 (S.D.N.Y.).
