Former Head of Global FX Trading Convicted of Fraud

A former head of foreign exchange ("FX") trading for HSBC Bank plc ("HSBC") was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and eight counts of wire fraud for his role in manipulating currency markets in order to generate profits for his employer and himself.

UK resident Mark Johnson, former head of FX cash trading at HSBC, allegedly took advantage of confidential information provided by a client in order to "front-run" a transaction to the detriment of that client. Mr. Johnson allegedly executed, and directed other HSBC traders to execute, trades designed to inflate the price of British currency in advance of a large transaction that HSBC was executing on behalf of the client. The transaction for the client involved the conversion of approximately $3.5 billion into British Currency. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Mr. Johnson "cheated [the] client out of millions of dollars by misusing information" provided to him on a confidential basis.

Mr. Johnson was tried in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York.