The rigging of the markets by criminal JP Morgan never seizes. JP Morgan Fined Again For Metals Manipulation
Andrew Lane | Nov 22, 2021 02:26AM ET
Recent news has shown that JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was recently fined $60 million for spoofing the precious metals sector. This comes less than two months after they were fined $15.7 million for spoofing treasury futures and options. Both counts were for activities between 2008 – 2016.
On both occasions, JP Morgan agreed to pay the fine but admitted to no wrongdoing. If they admit no wrongdoing, why are they paying the fine? It’s tantamount to an admission of guilt.
Less than a year ago, JP Morgan was fined $1 billion for similar spoofing activities. For those that aren’t aware, spoofing is an illegal activity that involves placing massive positions on the markets with no intention of executing the trades and then removing them all at the last minute.
These positions show up to traders across the globe who, in turn, think the market direction is going to change and open positions themselves. In the precious metals sector, we have seen spoofing taking place for years, pushing the price to the downside, so big organizations can accumulate physical cheap.
So why is JP Morgan, whose assets total nearly $4 trillion worldwide, allowed to get away with this?
The fines that have been dished out are nowhere near proportional to the proceeds of the crime, so there is little incentive for them to stop. We know eight big commercial banks have substantial short positions in silver, and when they see this “slap on the wrist” style of punishment, it will do little to deter them. It may do the opposite.
If they were to receive the same punishment as an individual, they would be banned from trading the sector. It is as simple as that.
Every day for the last two weeks, silver has gapped lower at the open, only for it to be bought straight back up again within the first 30 minutes of trading: the classic paper dump and buyback. One can only assume there are a lot of organizations gradually reducing unallocated paper shorts in this market before year-end and rule change.
One would also hope that the NSFR from Jan. 1, 2022, in London will bring historic manipulation in this market to an end. Wishful thinking, perhaps.
Andrew Lane
Written By:
Andrew Lane
