FT reports
The report says that Swiss competition regulator, Weko, found that Barclays, JP Morgan, Citigroup, and RBS traders worked together to manipulate currency prices for their own gain. Adding that staff traded ahead of its own customers and failed to accurately represent to clients how they were determining prices in the market.
UBS is also reported to be involved in the cartel but is able to escape a fine as they were the whistleblower, while Credit Suisse is fighting said allegations and is not settling.
I'm not going to defend what the traders did what they did but there's always two sides to every story. If you've ever had to execute trades on behalf of a sensitive client with a duty of "best execution", you'll know how difficult it can be to try and appease your own boss, management, and the client itself - all while trying to make money.
I would implore every one to take a read at this article here to get more of a perspective.
