\t\t\t\tA criminal indictment has been issued against Robert Bogucki, Barclays\u2019 (BARC) ex-foreign exchange operation head in New York. Bogucki, who is a Barclay\u2019s trader but has been on leave since late 2016, is accused of involvement in a scam to bilk one of the bank\u2019s clients by engaging in front-running. This type of activity usually involves using advance knowledge about an upcoming order and trading in a way to profit from this information. <\/p>\n
The criminal charges against Bogucki include multiple counts of wire fraud and a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His indictment alleges that in 2011, the ex-Barclays forex trader improperly used the information provided by Barclays’ client Hewlett-Packard Company prior to a significant trade. HP had retained the bank to execute the forex transaction, which involved $8.3B of forex options, and that was tied to plans to acquire another company. <\/p>\n
Bogucki and others allegedly used the information given to them by HP to manipulate the \u201cvolatility\u2019s\u201d price so as to lower the price of the company\u2019s options. The alleged fraud is said to have caused HP millions of dollars in losses. <\/p>\n
\u201cVolatility” is the metric that impacts forex options. Barclays is accused of making misrepresentations to Hewlett-Packard so as to benefit the bank.<\/p>\n