Two ex-Deutsche Bank Employees found guilty over commodity spoofing

According to the release posed by the United States Department of Justice(DOJ) on last Friday, two former Deutsche Bank employees, James Vorley and Cedric Chanu, were convicted of fraud by a Chicago federal jury for their alleged involvement in fraudulent and manipulative trading practice in U.S. Commodities Markets. The two defendants will be sentenced on January 21, 2021.

Specifically, James Vorley, 42, of the United Kingdom, and Cedric Chanu, 40, of France and the United Arab Emirates, were accused of engaging in publicly-traded precious metals futures contracts. Evidences show that the defendants were employed by Deutsche Bank——Vorley based in London; Chanu based in London and Singapore. 

With the fraudulent orders they placed that won’t be executed in the market, a false relationship of supply and demand was created. The defendants operated the scheme to encourage traders on the Commodity Exchange Inc. to trade at prices, quantities, and times that they wouldn’t have set under normal circumstances. This practice is called “spoofing”. 

Commented on the case, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said, “Today’s jury verdict shows that those who seek to manipulate our public financial markets through fraud will be held accountable by juries and the department.”