Cryptocurrency: JPMorgan's Dimon Convicted of BTC Manipulation, Again

grarpamp grarpamp at gmail.com
Sat Aug 20 15:58:56 PDT 2022


Anybody who knows anything knows that JPMorgan, Blackrock,
GoldmanSachs, WellsFargo, etc have been cloning and maladvising clients,
manipulating the Crypto Markets and other markets since inception,
and are generally nothing but frauds, and since Genesis known as
unnecessary leeches being burnt off by the crypto revolution.

Ignore what they say, adopt and use crypto, route around them,
make them starve and die, along with their crony corrupt GovPols.

Public market elements where need be,
privacy otherwise... sound money and finance wins.


JPMorgan Gold Trading Boss & Former LBMA Board Member Found Guilty By US Jury

https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/jp-morgan-gold-trading-boss-former-lbma-board-member-found-guilty-by-us-jury/
https://twitter.com/BullionStar/status/1549526295536668673
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16202859/united-states-v-smith/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jpmorgan-chase-co-agrees-pay-920-million-connection-schemes-defraud-precious-metals-and-us
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-jp-morgan-traders-convicted-fraud-attempted-price-manipulation-and-spoofing-multi-year
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/lbma-board-member-jp-morgan-managing-director-charged-with-rigging-precious-metals/
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/lbma-removes-jp-morgans-michael-nowak-from-the-lbma-board/
https://cdn.lbma.org.uk/downloads/LBMA-Board-Mins-20190712-for-Web.pdf
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/current-and-former-precious-metals-traders-charged-multi-year-market-manipulation
https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-923-18-usc-371-conspiracy-defraud-us
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/ex-jpmorgan-metals-trader-seeks-separate-trial-in-spoofing-case
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/commodities-fraud
https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-941-18-usc-1343-elements-wire-fraud
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.368079/gov.uscourts.ilnd.368079.673.0.pdf
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-metals-jpmorgan-idTRNIKBN2PG1XY
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/current-and-former-precious-metals-traders-charged-multi-year-market-manipulation%20%20Edmo
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-precious-metals-trader-pleads-guilty-commodities-fraud-and-spoofing-conspiracy
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/precious-metals-trader-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-and-spoofing-charges
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-precious-metals-trader-pleads-guilty-attempted-commodities-price-manipulation
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-14/jpmorgan-gold-trader-turned-whistleblower-lied-to-authorities
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-18/spoofing-gold-common-practice-at-bear-stearns-ex-trader-says
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-19/jpmorgan-trader-spoofed-so-fast-colleagues-urged-ice-on-fingers
https://cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/6709-13
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cftc-silver-idUSBRE98O0SR20130925
https://cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/6735-13
https://www.sifma.org/people/david-meister
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-28/inside-the-jpm-precious-metals-desk-called-a-crime-ring-by-prosecutors
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ex-jpmorgan-metals-chief-missed-memo-al-capone-atty-says-2022-07-29/
https://chambers.com/lawyer/david-meister-global-2:493417
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/despite-manipulating-precious-metals-prices-jp-morgan-is-still-at-the-heart-of-the-lbma-sbma-and-comex/
https://www.lbma.org.uk/market-standards/global-precious-metals-code
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-nowak-327137a2/
https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge-info.aspx?oN+v6cRiHMc=

In a major embarrassment for banking giant JP Morgan and the London
Bullion Market Association (LBMA), a federal jury in a US criminal
trial has convicted Michael Nowak, global head of JP Morgan’s precious
metals trading and former LBMA board member, on 13 counts of attempted
price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and spoofing prices
in the gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures markets.

The same criminal trial jury, in a trial which was presided over by
federal judge Edmond E. Chang of the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Illinois, also convicted Nowak’s colleague
and JP Morgan precious metals trader, Gregg Smith, on 11 counts of
attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and
spoofing. In a US federal trial, the jury the verdict has to be
unanimous.

The charges against the JP Morgan global precious metals trading desk
traders were brought by the US Government’s Department of Justice
(DoJ) Criminal Division in a trial officially called “United States v.
Smith (1:19-cr-00669)”. While the jury’s verdict found the two traders
guilty of price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud and
spoofing, the jury also found both Nowak and Smith not guilty under
one count each of a RICO conspiracy (the Racketeering Act) and a 371
conspiracy (conspiracy to defraud the United States).
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase


Its important to remember also that this trial of Nowak, Smith and
Ruffo is part of the same criminal investigation under which JP Morgan
paid a record US$ 920 million using a deferred prosecution agreement
(DPA) with the DoJ in September 2020.
Multi Year Market Manipulation

The JP Morgan precious metals traders’ trial, which has generated a
lot of media interest, began in Chicago on 8 July 2022 and continued
until 29 July, after which the jury deliberated until 10 August before
coming to a verdict.

As explained by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in a 10 August
post-verdict press release titled “Former J.P. Morgan Traders
Convicted of Fraud, Attempted Price Manipulation, and Spoofing in a
Multi-Year Market Manipulation Scheme”, the crimes of price
manipulation and spoofing by JP Morgan’s traders took place:

    “in a multi-year market manipulation scheme of precious metals
futures contracts that spanned over eight years and involved thousands
of unlawful trading sequences.”

Let’s repeat that.

Eight years! Thousands of unlawful trading sequences!

And not by some two-bit basement hustlers, but by JP Morgan’s global
head of precious metals Nowak and his chief lieutenant Smith.
LBMA Board Member - Nowak

And Nowak was not just any old former LBMA board member back in the
mists of time. Nowak was actually still a board member of the LBMA on
the very day (Monday 16 September 2019) when the US Department of
Justice indictment against him was unsealed, charging Nowak with
federal crimes. See BullionStar article “LBMA Board Member & JP Morgan
Managing Director Charged with Rigging Precious Metals” from 17
September 2019.

Back in September 2019, the LBMA then inexplicably did nothing for
almost a full work week, before being forced, on Friday 20 September
2019, to remove Nowak from the LBMA Board. See BullionStar article
“LBMA Removes JP Morgan’s Michael Nowak from the LBMA Board” from 20
September 2019.

Nowak, for example, was an attendee at the LBMA Board meeting on 12
July 2019, the last meeting before be was removed from the LBMA Board.
See minutes of the LBMA Board meeting on 12 July 2019.
Minutes of LBMA Board meeting, 12 July 2019
    The 8 years in question over which JP Morgan’s Michael Nowak and
Gregg Smith have now been convicted of being engaged in a “widespread
spoofing, market manipulation, and fraud scheme” spanned the period
between “approximately May 2008 and August 2016”.

Specifically, per the DoJ press release:

    “The defendants engaged in thousands of deceptive trading
sequences for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium futures contracts
traded through the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and
Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges
operated by CME Group Inc.

    These deceptive orders were intended to inject false and
misleading information about the genuine supply and demand for
precious metals futures contracts into the markets.”

A third member of the same JP Morgan team, precious metals desk
salesman, Jeffrey Ruffo, who was also on trial in Chicago along with
Nowak and Smith, was acquitted by the federal jury. Ruffo had only
been charged with a RICO conspiracy and a 371 conspiracy and was found
by the jury to be not guilty on both of those charges.
David Meister, formerly of the CFTC “Watchdog" and now the defense
attorney for JP Morgan’s Michael Nowak
Gang of 4

The reason the RICO and 371 conspiracies were part of this trial is
that in addition to the charges against the JP Morgan precious metals
traders of attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud
and spoofing, the US Department of Justice’s indictment against Nowak,
Smith, Ruffo (and a 4th JP Morgan trader Christopher Jordan) included
conspiracy under the RICO Act and engaging in a conspiracy.

The RICO Act refers to the US Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act (RICO Act). Specifically, the latest (pre-trial)
indictment filed by the DoJ on 16 November 2021 included charging each
of Nowak, Smith, Ruffo and Jordan with one count of RICO conspiracy
and one count of “371 conspiracy”.

A 371 conspiracy refers to the US general conspiracy statute (18
U.S.C. § 371) where “two or more persons conspire either to commit any
offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or
any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose. In short, the 371
conspiracy statute “prohibits conspiracies to defraud the United
States”.

The reason Christopher Jordan was not on trial with Nowak, Smith and
Ruffo during July 2022 was that back in 2020, Jordan’s lawyers
successfully convinced a Chicago federal judge that Jordan should have
a separate trial “citing concerns about unfair treatment if tried
alongside the others”. Talk about fear of ‘guilty by association”.

Christopher Jordan is therefore now awaiting his own trial in the
future, at a date yet to be scheduled.
JP Morgan’s Michael Nowak (centre) arriving for court in Chicago
during July 2022
The Charges

At the same time though, Christopher Jordan’s name continued to be
listed in all the DoJ indictments submitted to the court, including
the latest one dated 16 November 2021, which reads as follows:

    SECOND SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT as to

    1 Gregg Smith count(s) 1ss, 2ss, 3ss, 5ss-12ss, 24ss, 26ss,

    2 Michael Nowak count(s) 1ss, 2ss, 4ss, 13ss-22ss, 25ss, 27ss,

    3 Jeffrey Ruffo count(s) 1s, 2s,

    4 Christopher Jordan count(s) 1ss, 2ss, 23ss (lma, )

    (Entered: 11/17/2021)

See document number 448 here, on the Court Listener website.

The various numbers relating to the counts are explained as follows:

    1ss = Count 1 = RICO conspiracy
    2 ss = Count 2 = 371 Conspiracy
    3ss & 4 ss = Counts 3 (Smith) and Count 4 (Nowak) = Attempted
price manipulation
    5ss-12ss & 13ss-22ss = Counts 5-12 (Smith) and Counts 13-22
(Nowak) = Wire fraud
    24ss & 25ss = Counts 3 (Smith) and Count 4 (Nowak) = Commodities fraud
    26ss & 27ss = Count 26 (Smith) and Count 27 (Nowak) = Spoofing

For a definition of Commodities Fraud, see the DOJ page here. For a
definition of Wire Fraud, see the DoJ page here. Wire Fraud is any
fraud (intentional deception for monetary or personal gain) committed
via an electronic from of communication, and that is ‘interstate’ in
nature, and is usually investigated by the FBI.
The Verdict: Nowak guilty of 13 counts, Smith guilty of 11

Fast forward to 10 August and the federal jury in the “United States
v. Smith (1:19-cr-00669)” trial handed down its verdict, a verdict
which found:

    Nowak guilty of attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud,
wire fraud and spoofing (i.e. guilty of 4 different offences under 13
counts)
    Smith guilty of attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud,
wire fraud and spoofing (i.e. guilty of 4 different offences under 11
counts)
    And which acquitted Ruffo

The full jury verdict (as per the Docket Entry of the Court Clerk)
source reads as follows:

    This docket entry was made by the Clerk on Wednesday, August 10, 2022:

     MINUTE entry before the Honorable Edmond E. Chang:

    Jury deliberations held.

    Jury reaches a verdict on the three trial Defendants and on all
the charges.

    [A.] Defendant Smith found not guilty on Counts 1 (RICO
conspiracy) and 2 (371 conspiracy); guilty on Count 3 (attempted price
manipulation); guilty on Counts 5 through 12 (wire fraud); guilty on
Count 24 (commodities fraud); and guilty on Count 26 (spoofing).

    [B.] Defendant Nowak found not guilty on Counts 1 (RICO
conspiracy) and 2 (371 conspiracy); guilty on Count 4 (attempted price
manipulation); guilty on Counts 13 through 22 (wire fraud); guilty on
Count 25 (commodities fraud); and guilty on Count 27 (spoofing).

    [C.] Defendant Ruffo found not guilty on Counts 1 (RICO
conspiracy) and 2 (371 conspiracy). Defendant Ruffo is discharged and
dismissed from this case and release conditions are vacated. Pretrial
Services shall return Defendant Ruffo’s passport.

    [D.] Rule 29 and 33 motions are due on 09/21/2022. The
government’s combined response is due on 10/26/2022. The defense
replies are due on 11/16/2022.

    [E.] The courtroom deputy will contact the lawyers about
sentencing dates in 2023. The case is referred to the Probation Office
for PSR preparation. Emailed notice (eec)

Source

Eagle eyed readers may have spotted that count 23 of the DoJ
indictment was not addressed by the jury in the Nowak-Smith-Ruffo
trial. This is because that charge relates to Christopher Jordan, and
will be addressed in Jordan’s separate trial.

Points D and E on the jury verdict Docket Entry are interesting. Point
D says that “Rule 29 and 33 motions are due on 09/21/2022”.

Rule 29 in US federal courts refers to a “motion for judgement of
acquittal”. Rule 33 refers to the ability of defendants asking for a
new trial. So given these possibilities, and the subsequent responses
and replies, these legal routes, if used, could drag on until
mid-November.

As per point [E], a sentencing date will be scheduled for 2023. The
‘PSR’ in point [E] is an abbreviation for a “Pre-Sentence Report”. A
“Pre-Sentence Report” is a report prepared by a probation officer upon
conviction of a defendant which helps the judge determine what
sentence to impose.

Nowak’s attorney, David Meister (who unbelievably at one time was Head
of Enforcement at the CFTC until 2013), stated on 10 August that Nowak
will now fight the trial jury verdict:

    “‘While we are gratified that the jury acquitted Mr. Nowak of
racketeering and conspiracy, we are extremely disappointed by the
jury’s verdict on the whole, and will continue to seek to vindicate
his rights in court,’ Nowak’s attorney David Meister said.“

A Conspiracy – So said Edmonds and Trunz

It’s important to remember that while this trial was brought by the US
Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, it arose out of a joint
investigation by the DoJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) into JP Morgan and
market manipulation, and the investigation also had the help of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and CFTC. As per the DoJ’s 10
August press release:

    “The FBI’s New York Field Office investigated the case. The
Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement
provided assistance in this matter.”

It’s also important to remember that during the trail of JP Morgan’s
Nowak, Smith and Ruffo, the prosecution’s witnesses included former
colleagues of the JP Morgan precious metals traders, namely John
Edmonds, Christian Trunz, and Corey Flaum, all three of whom testified
during the trial.

John Edmonds and Christian Trunz formerly worked as precious metals
traders on the JP Morgan global precious metals desk, and Corey Flaum
was a colleague of Gregg Smith when they both worked as precious
metals traders at Bear Stearns.

The reason that Edmonds, Trunz, and Flaum were testifying in the
Nowak-Smith-Ruffo trial on behalf of the US Government is that each of
Edmonds, Trunz, and Flaum had already pleaded guilty in their own
trials, and then agreed to testify on behalf of the prosecution in the
Nowak-Smith-Ruffo trial that there was a conspiracy between the
traders, and that the price manipulations and spoofing occurred in the
context of the desk traders conspiring.
The Usual Suspects - Court cases taken by the US DoJ against precious
metals traders and their employers, the LBMA bullion banks. JP Morgan
leads the rankings. Source.
    The very heart of the Department of Justice charges is that there
was a crime ring, and a conspiracy within the JP Morgan global
precious metals desk (a global desk which is located in New York,
London and Singapore).

For example, the DoJ titled it’s 16 September 2019 press release when
charging Nowak, Smith and Ruffo as “a Multi-Year Market Manipulation
Racketeering Conspiracy”, saying that “the defendants and their
co-conspirators were members of [JP Morgan’s] global precious metals
trading desk in New York, London and Singapore”, and:

“As it relates to the RICO conspiracy, the defendants and their
co-conspirators were allegedly members of an enterprise—namely, the
precious metals desk at [JP Morgan] – and conducted the affairs of the
desk through a pattern of racketeering activity, specifically, wire
fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud.”

Edmonds and Trunz even pleaded guilty to there being a conspiracy on
the JP Morgan precious metals desk.

Specifically, John Edmonds pleaded guilty (on 9 October 2018) in the
District of Connecticut to:

    “commodities fraud and a spoofing conspiracy in connection with
his participation in fraudulent and deceptive trading activity in the
precious metals futures contracts markets”,

And Edmonds admitted that:

    “from approximately 2009 through 2015, he conspired with other
precious metals traders at the Bank to manipulate the markets for
gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the
COMEX and NYMEX.”

Edmonds even “admitted that he learned this deceptive trading strategy
from more senior traders at the Bank [JP Morgan]”.

On 20 August 2019, Christian Trunz, “a former precious metals trader
at the London, Singapore and New York offices of JP Morgan” (yes Trunz
was based in all 3 locations at various times) pleaded guilty in the
Eastern District of New York “to one count of conspiracy to engage in
spoofing and one count of spoofing in connection with his precious
metals futures contracts trading at JPMorgan” and admitted that:

    “between approximately July 2007 and August 2016, [he] placed
thousands of orders that he did not intend to execute for gold,
silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the NYMEX
and COMEX)."

Trunz even said that he “learned to spoof from more senior traders,
and spoofed with the knowledge and consent of his supervisors.”

Corey Flaum (who worked with Gregg Smith at Bear Sterns before Smith
moved to JP Morgan) also pleaded guilty (on 25 July 2019) to attempted
commodities price manipulation and admitted that: “between
approximately June 2007 and July 2016, [he] placed thousands of orders
to manipulate the prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium
futures contracts traded on COMEX and NYMEX.”

See here for Edmonds testimony, here for Flaum’s testimony, and here
for Trunz’s testimony.
What is a Typical “Racketeering" Enterprise?

As to why the federal jury didn’t find Nowak and Smith (and Ruffo)
guilty on the counts of the RICO conspiracy and the 371 conspiracy,
that is something that only the jury knows.

Maybe the jury could not grasp what exactly a racketeering enterprise
is defined as, and the Court didn’t explain it. This may sound like a
joke, but on 27 July 2022, just before the jury began its
deliberations, the Court told the jury as follows:

    “On closing arguments, the Court sets the following directives
based on certain incidents at trial so far. …  (3.) No evidence has
been introduced on what a typical “racketeering" enterprise is like
(nor would it likely have been allowed), so there can be no argument
on that topic.”

See Note 651 about the trial on the Court Listener website here.

Why exactly evidence on what a typical racketeering enterprise looks
like “would likely not have been allowed” will have to be left to US
federal court experts to interpret. Maybe the defense attorneys were
terrified that the prosecution would show the jury some photos of “The
Godfather” and JP Morgan’s precious metals desk side by side, asking
them to “spot the difference”.

Modern day trading desks use a myriad of chat apps and messaging apps
integrated into their trading workflow. Were the chat app messages of
the defendants and their trading colleagues at JP Morgan not submitted
as evidence and shown to the jury?  And likewise, were the chat app
messages of the JP Morgan defendants and their trading colleagues that
they sent and received from traders at other bullion banks not
submitted as evidence and shown to the jury?

In any case, the DoJ’s prosecution lawyers and their witnesses
(Edmonds, Trunz and Flaum) did inform the jury as to what they think a
racketeering enterprise looks like – See Exhibit 1 below.
Exhibit 1 - JP Morgan Trading desk​​​​
CFTC Silver Investigation – Gensler – Meister – Nowak

Before wrapping up, an interesting Note appeared during the Nowak
-Smith trial which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
would probably prefer to forget, so I will highlight it here. Its
about silver price manipulation.

First off, here’s some background about how, in 2013, the CFTC closed
down a five year investigation into silver price manipulation,
claiming they had found no evidence of any wrongdoing. As explained in
a BullionStar article from 4 March 2021:

    “For anyone familiar with the CFTC and the silver market will
immediately have raised their eyebrows that the CFTC “remains vigilant
in surveilling these markets for fraud and manipulation.”

    As a reminder, this is the same CFTC that on 25 September 2013
after a 5-year investigation into whether the COMEX silver futures
market was manipulated by JP Morgan and other banks, closed down the
investigation, saying that its Division of Enforcement and Division of
Market Oversight had found no evidence of wrongdoing, despite spending
7,000 staff hours on said investigation since 2008. The CFTC head of
enforcement at that time was David Meister, who then left the CFTC
only one week after closing down the silver investigation, in a job
well done.

    Chairman of the CFTC at that time was Gary Gensler [who is now
head of the SEC]. Meister, a lawyer by profession, returned to Wall
Street and his former law firm Skadden, and is now head of Skadden’s
government enforcement and white collar crime group in New York.”

Not only that, but the CFTC’s silver market investigation that ran
from 2008 -2013 was only one of three investigations into the silver
market manipulation that the CFTC held starting in 2004. From
Bloomberg:

    “And three times, starting in 2004, the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission also looked into allegations of market manipulation of the
silver market by JPMorgan.”

    The CFTC closed the third of those three inquiries in 2013 without
taking action.”


David Meister - The Gensler Whisperer

Not only that, but would you believe that the same David Meister (who
left the CFTC in 2013 after closing down the CFTC investigation into
silver market manipulation) was Michael Nowak’s defense attorney in
the Nowak July 2022 federal trial and is the attorney for Nowak’s
probable appeal. You probably wouldn’t believe it, except for the fact
that it’s true.

This is the same David Meister who Chambers, the global authority on
lawyer bios and profiles, calls “the Gensler Whisperer”. Yes, you read
that correctly. Chambers says:

    “David is killing it. People call him the ‘Gensler Whisperer’.”

    Of David Meister, ex CFTC head of enforcement, & current defence
counsel for Michael Nowak in the JP Morgan precious metals trader
trial, Chambers says: "David is killing it. People call him the
'Gensler Whisperer'." Yes, this is about Gary Gensler 🐎
https://t.co/x4wGOdF8n2
    — BullionStar (@BullionStar) July 19, 2022

You’ve probably heard of dog whisperers, and even horse whisperers.
But a Gensler Whisperer? Does this mean that David Meister was able to
whisper to Gensler to back off CFTC investigations, and could it have
anything to do with calling off the CFTC’s silver market manipulation
investigation back in 2013?

Now back to the Note. On 8 July 2022, on the subject of
silver-investigation limiting instructions, a note was added as part
of the Opening statements which said:

    “Government Exhibits 369 and 370 relate to a separate civil
investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
into complaints about silver prices. The CFTC’s separate investigation
was not part of the Department of Justice’s investigation that led to
the prosecution in this case, and the complaints about silver prices
are not at issue in this case.

    During its investigation, the CFTC interviewed a number of
individuals, including Mr. Nowak. Government Exhibits 369 and 370 are
excerpts of Mr. Nowak’s interview by the CFTC in 2010. For your
background information, the CFTC closed the inquiry without bringing
claims against any company or person.”

See Note 604 from Court Listener coverage of the trail, link here.

So now, given that the CFTC interviewed Michael Nowak in 2010 as part
of its investigation into silver price manipulation, but then closed
down that investigation in 2013 after finding nothing, and given that
now that the federal jury has found Nowak guilty of attempted price
manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud and spoofing, does this
mean the CFTC will want to interview Michael Nowak again?

Inquiring minds would like to know.
Gary Gensler – Former head of US CFTC. Now head of US SEC
Conclusion

Upon hearing of the jury’s verdict against JP Morgan’s Nowak and Smith
on 10 August, the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General
(AG) Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. commented that:

    “Today’s jury verdict demonstrates that those who seek to
manipulate our public financial markets will be held accountable and
brought to justice.”

The DoJ’s assistant AG also said that:

    “with this verdict, the Department has secured convictions of ten
former traders at Wall Street financial institutions, including
JPMorgan, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, The Bank of
Nova Scotia, and Morgan Stanley.”

However, why did the Department of Justice’s  period of investigation
only cover the 8 years from 2008 up to August 2016 but not since then?
What about from August 2016 up August 2022? Another full 6 years has
elapsed since then. Did JP Morgan and the other convicted LBMA bullion
banks’ trading desks suddenly stop spoofing manipulating precious
metals prices in August 2016?

Are we to believe that no commodities fraud, price manipulation,
spoofin or fraud has occurred on the COMEX since August 2016?

What does the LBMA, the self-styled world’s authority on precious
metals, have to say now that one of it’s board members, Nowak
(indicted in September 2019 while he was on the LBMA Board), has now
been found guilty by a US Federal trial jury on 13 counts of attempted
price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud and spoofing prices
in the gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures markets?

JP Morgan is still at the core of the LBMA. Specifically, JP Morgan is
a LBMA market making member, a LBMA London vault operator, a LBMA
clearing member (via LPMCL), a direct participant in the LBMA Gold
Price and LBMA Silver Price daily auctions, and a representative on
various LBMA committees. JP Morgan is also a market making member of
the LBMA’s sister organisation, the London Platinum and Palladium
Market (LPPM).

Likewise, given that the JP Morgan global precious metals trading desk
spans the 3 locations of New York, London and Singapore, how will the
Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) and the US COMEX react to
this jury verdict? And will other regulators such as the UK’s
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Singapore’s Monetary Authority
(MAS) now launch investigations against JP Morgan’s precious metals
desk?

For full details of how entrenched JP Morgan is in the LBMA, and LPPM
and the SBMA and COMEX, see the recent BullionStar article “Despite
manipulating precious metals prices, JP Morgan is still at the heart
of the LBMA, SBMA and COMEX”.

Finally, will the LBMA now make a statement distancing itself from JP
Morgan, and move to expel JP Morgan from its membership, or will the
LBMA carry on, pretending that the convictions of four JP Morgan
precious metals traders (Nowak, Smith, Edmonds and Trunz) by the US
DoJ is of no concern to the integrity of the commodities markets and
has no bearing on its own code of conduct and best practices, the LBMA
Global Precious Metals Code, a code which JP Morgan has signed.
Source


Maybe the LBMA could even invite Nowak back on to the LBMA Board when
the dust settles, if he appeals the jury verdict, or even from behind
bars. Because according to Michael Nowak’s LinkedIn profile, Nowak is
still a JP Morgan employee, not former, but very much still ‘Managing
Director at J.P. Morgan’ an also still J.P. Morgan’s ‘Global Head of
Base and Precious Metals Trading’ from July 1996 to ‘Present’.

This article was originally published on the BullionStar.com website
under the same title "JP Morgan gold trading boss & former LBMA Board
member found guilty by US jury".


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