UBS Pursued in Forex-Rigging

The bank is part of a $1.24 billion lawsuit by investors who want damages back following a scandal over rigging currency exchange markets. It revives another scandal from UBS’ past.

The Swiss-based bank is one of five major foreign exchange dealers hit by a 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion) class-action lawsuit in London, according to Reuters. This revisits a $545 million fine UBS paid four years ago for its role in a global currency-rigging scheme.

The lawsuit is an attempt to mimic U.S. class-action suits, where a group of people claiming damages are pooled into one legal process. It was filed against Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Barclays, J.P. Morgan, and the Swiss bank by an American law firm. A spokesman for UBS declined to comment.

Last week, UBS flagged a potential class action in its quarterly report: Certain class members have excluded themselves from that [U.S. class action] settlement and have filed individual actions in US and English courts against UBS and other banks, alleging violations of U.S. and European competition laws and unjust enrichment, the bank said.

UBS escaped relatively lightly in the U.S. settlement because it turned whistleblower and quickly cooperated with authorities and copped to a charge of wire fraud. The Swiss bank is still among the top-five dealers in global foreign exchange. The market is estimated at north of $5 trillion-a-day by the Bank for International Settlements.