The currency market is a worldwide trading floor with a daily trade volume of several trillion dollars. Inspired by vast opportunities on Forex, big market players are also seduced to boost their profits from illegal schemes. HSBC, the largest UK bank, has been involved in misconduct with clients’ funds. However, the scheme has been uncovered and those who were found guilty are now facing penalty. The US authorities imposed a severe fine of $100 billion. HSBC has to pay $63.1 million as a criminal fine and also $38.4 million to recover losses of the defrauded clients.
The swindlers abused confidential information on clients’ deals with the pound sterling. Misusing such data, HSBC employees traded the British pound, hurting the clients’ needs. This fraudulent scheme is known as front-running. Amid the investigation and criminal proceedings launched by the US prosecutors, HSBC agreed to fire traders involved in fraud. Moreover, the bank is obligated to allocate big money for improving internal controls.
