Banks Depict South African Rand Probe as Vague, Embarrassing
- BofA says antitrust authorities lack details on collusion
- Competition regulators have no jurisdiction, JPMorgan says
A South African one rand coin and banknotes sit in an arranged photograph in Pretoria.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergSome of the banks accused of manipulating trades in the rand are objecting to the complaint by South Africa’s Competition Commission, calling it vague and embarrassing, and demanding it be amended or dropped.
“The commission has failed to plead the material facts necessary to sustain the allegation that there was an agreement, or agreements,” between the lenders of colluding to fix the value of the currency, lawyers for Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a documents published on the Pretoria-based Competition Tribunal’s website on Wednesday. “The necessary details of any such agreement(s) -- i.e., when, where, how and by whom they were concluded -- are also lacking.”