Former co-head of UBS municipal derivatives group Peter Ghavami and ex-colleagues Gary Heinz and Michael Welty found themselves in court charged with six counts, including charges of conspiracy and fraud. The prosecution claims the executives colluded with JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and General Electric in fixing prices on agreements on how to invest municipal bond sales proceeds. The key witness in the case may be former UBS Employee Mark Zaino, who pleaded guilty to charges and offered critical testimony in a similar case where GE Bankers Carallo, Goldberg, and Grimm were found guilty of bid-rigging. In addition to testimony, the prosecution plans to offer over 200 recordings of as many as 40 illegal deals.
More than $700 million has already been paid by UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co. and GE Funding Capital Market Services to settle government claims.
Full content: Bloomberg
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