S. African Competition Tribunal fines Citibank 5.2 mln USD for collusion

The Citibank was fined about 5.2 million U.S. dollars for its role in the forex cartel, said South African Competition Tribunal on Wednesday.

The Citibank is one of the 17 banks who colluded to fix the South African currency, rand rate between September 2007 and October 2013.

Those banks agreed to cause artificial shortage of the rand, when to withhold and when to sell it at an agreed price.

"In terms of the settlement agreement Citibank N.A. will appear as a witness at their competitor's hearings and Citibank has already begun supplying information that is helpful to the Commission's investigation," said Chantelle Benjamin, communication officer at Competition Tribunal.

The bank agreed that it worked with its competitors to manipulate the price of bids and offers through agreements to refrain from trading and creating fictitious bids. Citibank also agreed that they colluded to offers at particular times, assisted each other by allowing a trader with a large open risk position to complete his trades first before trading and through holding.

"Citibank N.A additionally undertakes to not engage in any future conduct in contravention of the Competition Act and continue its existent implementation programs," said Benjamin.

The Citibank is the first of the 17 banks to reach a settlement agreement with the Competition Tribunal, and the fine does not exceed 10 percent of Citibank's annual turnover in South Africa. Endit