I’ve done nothing wrong, says British banker at the heart of rate-fixing probe
THE currency trader at the centre of an alleged multibillion pound scam has been named – but he insists he has done nothing wrong.
The Daily Mail can reveal that Richard Usher, 39, is at the ‘front, left, right and centre’ of allegations that staff at major banks colluded on online chatrooms to fix foreign exchange rates and make ‘ free money’ for their employers and themselves.
A source at his last employer, JP Morgan, said the bank may seek to ‘claw back’ millions in bonuses paid to him.
Chancellor George Osborne and his shadow Ed Balls are urging the Serious Fraud Office to go after the traders involved, such as Mr Usher and his fellow ‘Cartel’ chatroom member, British banker Rohan Ramchandani, 34, of Citigroup.
Embarrassingly, both Mr Usher
‘Paid to make money’
and Mr Ramchandani were official advisers to the Bank of England committee on the workings of the foreign exchange market.
But a close friend of Mr Usher insists he had done nothing wrong, saying he was ‘paid by the banks to meet targets and make money’.
Speaking on the doorstep of the £800,000 home in idyllic Kent countryside he shares with wife Debbie, 40, Mr Usher, who was quietly sacked last month after being suspended for a year, said: ‘I’m sorry I’ve got no comments to make.’
His friend told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s being made to seem as if making money on a foreign exchange trade is not just a bad thing, but a criminal offence – it’s neither.’
Traders from six banks – including HSBC and RBS – are said to have colluded on chatrooms to maximise profits for themselves and their banks.
The banks have accepted fines totalling £2.6billion from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority and US and Swiss regulators, and have banned the use of online chatrooms. US agencies have launched another criminal inquiry. The SFO inquiry is ‘at an early stage’.
Mr Usher’s friend said he and the traders said to be involved were being scapegoated. He said: ‘To the layman it [the chatroom] doesn’t look very nice. But Richard and the other guys were paid by the banks to meet targets and make money. They were incentivised to talk to other banks.
‘When you look at what the banks have said about accepting these £ 2.6billion f i nes … they’re not accepting any misconduct. When criticised by the FCA, the banks have just rolled over and said they’ll pay the fine, to get rid of this quickly. It’s a drop in the ocean to them – and they’re scapegoating a few individuals.’
He added: ‘There are many people who have done things that would be seen as more worrying than what Richard and Rohan Ramchandani have done.’
A senior source at JP Morgan said: ‘Richard Usher’s name keeps coming up over this alleged collusion. People here are furious and disappointed.’
The activity attacked by regulators involved the foreign exchange market, i n which official ‘ fix’ exchange r ates, f or example between the pound and the dollar, are determined by a snapshot of the trades taking place in the minute starting just before 4pm i n London, and finishing 30 seconds after.
Traders allegedly worked together to ensure the rates were fixed to their massive financial advantage.
Mr Ramchandani refused to comment on the claims. Mr Usher’s lawyer also refused to comment.
A spokesman for JP Morgan would only say he no longer worked there.