Bank flow is defending barriers? You’ve seen it, huh? yes. So you’re saying that since manipulation happens all the time we should ignore it? no. The irony is not lost that if the dude had actually hedged his Aussie deltas he would never have been prosecuted. He ramped up longs in the curb sessions to effect a touch. He closed all longs immediately on touching the barrier. Those actions are not simply the execution of a long bias. true - he was 'guilty' as I said. Should manipulation be legal; spoofing, attacking/defending barriers be legal? It’s one thing to target stops below the contract low… but not OK if you’re using inside info to do so. Analogs would be bidding for single deltas in VIX vol to manip the SOQ or futures spoofing which are far less egregious. No, it should be even-handed, this isn't about using inside info, it's simply he was playing the game as he found it. this is about fairness. He would have known all chats are recorded, and knowing how it works, didn't make an attempt to disguise what he was doing because it's been acceptable practice in FX since forever. Until now. It's like prosecuting a teenager for smoking a spliff while you're loading up your ship with the finest colombian.
Inside in the sense that he’s manipulating the mkt during curb hours against a known position (his own). Doesn’t help that he lied about it by covering his spot upon triggering the touch. Nobody but banks and hedgers trade the Rand. Not a hard market to manipulate and clearly that was the case here. UBS triggered a payout against me on a Sunday when EBS didn’t show prices within 10 pips. They eventually covered it but I have no love for the sell side here.
Fair point. My guess it just a last gasp desperate defence plea to avoid time in the clink. I don't judge him for that, but unsurprisingly didn't work