As Big Banks’ FX Case Ends, Judge Urges Probe of Traders

By Erik Larson, Tom Schoenberg, and Chris Dolmetsch, Bloomberg News

A federal judge urged U.S. authorities to pursue prosecutions against individuals as part of their investigation into the manipulation of currency markets as he accepted penalties against four of the world’s largest banks.

In handing down the penalties at a sentencing hearing in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill adopted a recommendation from the government and ordered the banks to pay a combined $2.5 billion, less than the amount called for by federal sentencing guidelines. He said that “when the market is rigged, folks who play by ...