Bank cartel charges

THE former bosses of Deutsche Bank and Citigroup in Australia have been charged with running a cartel.

Michael Ormaechea of German lender Deutsche and Stephen Roberts of US bank Citi face up to a decade behind bars if convicted.

The pair allegedly rigged the markets by teaming up during a £ 1.4bn sale of shares in ANZ Bank three years ago. Other senior bankers from Deutsche, Citi and ANZ have also been charged but the three institutions deny wrongdoing.

JP Morgan was also involved in the fundraising but has avoided prosecution after reportedly blowing the whistle. It is a rare example of prosecutors going after senior bankers for alleged bad behaviour.