Federal prosecutors and the top U.S. commodities regulator have asked banks to turn over information in connection with a broad probe into whether their traders rigged auctions on government debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Banks are in the process of providing details to prosecutors at the Fraud Section at the Justice Department, as well as investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the people said. ...
US prosecutors at the Fraud Section of the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have sent requests to 22 banks, including Goldman Sachs, to provide them with information regarding a probe into whether their traders rigged auctions on government debt, say sources. With the CFTC involved, there are suggestions that investigators are examining futures trading that takes place ahead of and around Treasury auctions, with possibly a focus on allegations of manipulation, rather than collusion, due to the involvement of the Fraud Section.