Libor, Forex, money laundering for cartels, equities… what do all these have in common? They are markets that banks and brokers were allowed to manipulate until it became public knowledge that fraud and corruption were taking place.
And with everyone and their brother knowing that gold markets and prices have been manipulated for decades, a new class action lawsuit filed by two Canadian investors through three Canadian law firms is trying to blow the whistle on one of the most egregious scams going on in the gold markets today.
In a suit filed on Dec. 22 against several banks involved in the London Gold Fix, lawyers from three firms are seeking $1.1 billion in restitution for losses taken by the manipulation of gold contracts and markets.
Bank of Nova Scotia, along with a handful of international banks embroiled in a lawsuit in the United States over alleged manipulation of a key benchmark based on the gold price, is facing a fresh lawsuit filed in Canada.
Lawyers at Sotos LLP, Koskie Minsky LLP and Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman are seeking class action status for the lawsuit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
In a statement Tuesday, the law firms said they are seeking up to $1 billion in damages or compensation on behalf of Canadian investors who bought “a gold market instrument either directly or indirectly” between Jan. 1, 2004, and March 19, 2014.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants, including Bank of Nova Scotia, “conspired to manipulate prices in the gold market under the guise of the benchmark fixing process, known as the London PM Fixing, for a 10-year period,” the law firms said in the statement.
“It is further alleged that the defendants manipulated the bid-ask spreads of gold market instruments throughout the trading day in order to enhance their profits at the expense of the class.” - Financial Post
Since the advent of the completely fiat money system in the global economy, gold has become an enemy to the powers that control that system, and is often beaten down as much as possible to mask the insecurities of these currencies. And ever since gold prices soared to nearly $2000 per ounce four years ago, London and the Comex have made concerted efforts through their dealer banks to not only drive down its price, but to also manipulate it to the point where most analysts and citizens think that the precious metal is nothing more than a barbarous relic.
Heading into 2016, paper gold contracts outnumber physical gold available for delivery by a margin of 294-1. And with this being the equivalent of a market maker printing a billion Apple shares out of thin air and adding them to the market, it is no surprise that the price of gold is far below what would be its fair market value, and that losers from this fraud and manipulation are now speaking out to seek restitution for theses crimes.
Kenneth Schortgen Jr is a writer for Secretsofthefed.com, Examiner.com, Roguemoney.net, and To the Death Media, and hosts the popular web blog, The Daily Economist. Ken can also be heard Wednesday afternoons giving an weekly economic report on the Angel Clark radio show.
