In 2015, an action captioned NYPL v. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO., ET AL. was brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (later transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York) against Citigroup, as well as numerous other foreign exchange dealers.
Subsequently, plaintiffs filed a third amended class action complaint, naming Citigroup, Citibank, and Citicorp as defendants. Plaintiffs seek to represent a putative class of “consumers and businesses in the United States who directly purchased supracompetitive foreign currency at Benchmark exchange rates” from defendants. Plaintiffs allege claims under federal and California antitrust and consumer protection laws, and are seeking compensatory damages, treble damages, and declaratory and injunctive relief. In January 2019, the plaintiffs renewed a previously filed motion for leave to amend their complaint, and on July 9, 2019, the court denied that motion. On January 13, 2020, the court issued an amended case management plan, setting case and pretrial deadlines. Additional information concerning this action is publicly available in court filings under the docket numbers 15 Civ. 2290 (N.D. Cal.) (Chhabria, J.) and 15 Civ. 9300 (S.D.N.Y.) (Schofield, J.).
On September 26, 2016, investors in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) commenced a suit captioned BAKER ET AL. v. BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION ET AL. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Citigroup, Citibank, Citicorp and CGMI, as well as various other banks. The complaint asserts claims under the Sherman Act, New York state antitrust law, and California state antitrust law and unfair competition law, based on alleged foreign exchange market collusion affecting ETF investments. The plaintiffs seek to certify nationwide, California and New York classes, and request damages and injunctive relief under the relevant statutes, including treble damages. On January 23, 2017, the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint, and on March 24, 2017, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in lieu of responding to defendants’ motion. A stipulation of voluntary dismissal was filed on April 28, 2017. Additional information concerning this action is publicly available in court filings under the docket number 16 civ.7512 (S.D.N.Y) (Schofield, J.).
In 2017, certain plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint on behalf of purported classes of indirect purchasers of foreign exchange instruments sold by defendants, including Citigroup, Citibank, Citicorp, and CGMI as defendants, captioned CONTANT, ET AL. v. BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, ET AL. Plaintiffs allege that defendants engaged in a conspiracy to fix currency prices in violation of the Sherman Act and various state antitrust laws. On November 15, 2018, the court denied plaintiffs’ motions for preliminary approval of a proposed class settlement with the Citi defendants. On May 29, 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended motion for preliminary approval of their settlement, and the court granted the motion on July 29, 2019. On November 19, 2019, the court stayed settlement deadlines so that settlements with two additional defendants could be combined with the Citi settlement. Additional information concerning these actions is publicly available in court filings under the docket numbers 16 Civ. 7512 (S.D.N.Y.) (Schofield, J.), 17 Civ. 4392 (S.D.N.Y.) (Schofield, J.), and 17 Civ. 3139 (S.D.N.Y.) (Schofield, J.).
On July 12, 2017, a putative class action captioned ALPARI (US), LLC v. CITIGROUP INC. & CITIBANK, N.A. was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Plaintiff asserts claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment arising out of alleged cancellation of electronic FX transactions and seeks damages, restitution, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. On September 11, 2017, plaintiff filed a notice of dismissal, dismissing its case against Citigroup and Citibank in its entirety without prejudice. The court approved the dismissal on September 12, 2017 and ordered the case closed. Additional information concerning this action is publicly available in court filings under the docket number 17 Civ. 5269 (S.D.N.Y.).
On November 7, 2018, some of the institutional investors who opted out of an August 2018 settlement with Citi defendants filed a lawsuit against Citigroup, Citibank, CGMI, and other defendants under the caption ALLIANZ GLOBAL INVESTORS, ET AL. v. BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, ET AL. Plaintiffs allege that
defendants manipulated, and colluded to manipulate, the foreign exchange market. Plaintiffs assert Sherman Act and unjust enrichment claims and seek consequential and punitive damages and other forms of relief. On April 1, 2019, Citigroup, Citibank, CGMI, and other defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, and on June 11, 2019, plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint. On July 25, 2019, defendants moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ second amended complaint. That motion is fully briefed and pending. Additional information concerning this action is publicly available in court filings under the docket number 18 Civ. 10364 (S.D.N.Y.) (Schofield, J.).
In 2018, two motions for certification of class actions alleging manipulation of foreign exchange markets were filed in the Tel Aviv Central District Court in Israel against Citigroup and CGMI, and Citibank, respectively. The cases are LANUEL, ET AL. v. BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, ET AL., CA29013-09-18, and GERTLER, ET AL. v. DEUTSCHE BANK AG, C1A1657-10-18. On September 12, 2019, these motions were consolidated into a single proceeding, and an amended motion for certification of a class action was filed and served on Citibank.
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