Andrew Maguire is an independent bullion trader and a whistleblower. He notified United States regulators that fraud had been committed, manipulating prices in the international gold and silver markets. Maguire and his wife were injured in a hit-and-run accident a day after he was identified as the source of the allegations.
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Andrew Maguire has 40 years of experience as a trader and is a former Goldman Sachs trader.[1][2] On March 29, 2010, he was interviewed on the radio with Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) board member Adrian Douglas.[3] He went public in April 2010 with assertions of market manipulation by JPMorgan Chase and HSBC of the gold and silver markets,[1] prompting a number of lawsuits,[2] including a class action lawsuit.[4] Maguire said "JPMorgan acts as an agent for the Federal Reserve; they act to halt the rise of gold and silver against the US dollar. JPMorgan is insulated from potential losses (on their short positions) by the Fed and/or the U.S. taxpayer." "No one at JPMorgan is familiar with Andrew Maguire," said Brian Marchiony, a JPMorgan spokesman. HSBC declined to comment.[1]
GATA chairman Bill Murphy gave a detailed account of Maguire's allegations to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stating how "JP Morgan Chase signals to the market its intention to take down the precious metals. Traders recognize these signals and make money shorting the metals alongside JPM. [He] explained how there are routine market manipulations at the time of option expiry, non-farm payroll data releases, and COMEX contract rollover, as well as the ad-hoc events."[5]
According to Maguire, the precious metals markets trade "pretty much in tandem", but because the silver market is so much smaller, it is harder to disguise one's activities and therefore easier to figure out who is behind a manipulative event.[6] After Bear Stearns and their short silver positions were acquired by JPMorgan, manipulative events in the silver market became more frequent. Maguire decided to inform the CFTC. He contacted commissioner Bart Chilton, who had Eliud Ramirez, a senior investigator from the CFTC's enforcement division, get in touch with Maguire.[6][7] Maguire explained the manipulations in great detail, both over the phone in an hour-long interview and afterward, in a series of e-mails with screen shots.[6]
Maguire then predicted a manipulative event in the silver market and gave detailed information in an e-mail to the CFTC about what to expect, sending it on February 3, 2010, two days prior to the event. The event transpired exactly as Maguire predicted.[8][9] While the event was taking place, Maguire sent e-mails in real time, pointing out certain details because the CFTC enforcement seemed not to know what to look for or how to interpret the data.[6]
Maguire and his wife were injured in London in a hit-and-run accident on March 26, 2010,[10] the day after Maguire's name came to light during a CFTC hearing on limiting gold and silver positions held by large market participants in order to prevent manipulation.[11][12] Maguire believes the accident was an attempt on his life.[13] The driver of the other vehicle was apprehended after a police chase, both on the ground and from the air in helicopters, but his name has not been released.[12] Maguire said, "We got hit in the side at full acceleration and tried to corral the cars in a gas station, including the guy who hit us with a commercial vehicle." The assailant then sped away, hitting at least two more cars.[12] Maguire said the police told him the assailant was known to them, but he has been unable to get further information about the case.[13] The assailant was reportedly given a slap on the wrist.[10]
The United States Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the CFTC are conducting civil and criminal probes steming from a New York Post article concerning Maguire's allegations.[14] Following publication of the article, JPMorgan released a statement that they are not under investigation by the Department of Justice or the CFTC.[14] The CFTC has interviewed 32 people and reviewed 40,000 documents, but as of May 2011, no action has been taken.[10] On February 24, 2011, in less than an hour, the price of silver fell $1.50 per ounce before recovering.[10] Another London-based trader, Richard Guthrie, wrote to Chilton to complain about the event, asking “How many investors lost money and positions to the financial benefit of an elite few?”[10] Chilton believes violations of the law have taken place and wants to see prosecutions move forward,[10] but the five-member commission has yet to act.