OVERVIEW

Silver Price Manipulation

This case alleges that the defendants conspired to manipulate the global silver markets for many years to their own benefit and to the disadvantage of class members.

The defendants are some of the largest financial institutions and silver market makers in Canada and across the world, including Scotia Bank, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and UBS.

The defendants allegedly used their special position and market power within the global silver markets to conspire to use various illegal methods to manipulate the price of silver.

The court will decide at a later date if the case will proceed as a class action.

The case seeks to represent persons in Canada who transacted in silver market instruments such as silver bullion or silver bullion coins, silver futures contracts, shares in silver ETFs, silver call options, etc. between January 1, 1999 and August 14, 2014.

Updates

November 25, 2023: The plaintiffs await the Court of Appeal’s decision, which remains under reserve.
April 20, 2023: Hearing scheduled before the Court of Appeal, to request that the Order dismissing the plaintiffs’ motion to amend pleadings and add new defendants be set aside.
April 26, 2022: The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the plaintiffs’ motion to add new parties and amend their claim to reflect allegations of spoofing the market. You can find a copy of the decision here. The plaintiffs have appealed that decision.
October 29, 2020: The plaintiffs brought a motion to add JP Morgan Chase & Co., J.P. Morgan Bank Canada, J.P. Morgan Canada, JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association, Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., Bank of America Corporation, and Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc. as defendants.
December 24, 2019: The certification motion has been scheduled for October 5, 6, 7, and 8, 2020, at 10:00 am in Toronto. This motion will be heard together with the Gold class action.
June 21, 2019: The Plaintiffs issued the Amended Amended Statement of Claim.
May 29, 2019: Justice Belobaba approved the settlement with Deutsche Bank and also approved the fees and disbursements of Class Counsel. You can find the settlement approval order here, the fee approval order here and the Court’s reasons for approval here.
February 11, 2019: Notices are issued to class members regarding the Deutsche Bank settlement. You can find the long form notice here and the short form notice here. If you wish to opt out of this class action, please review this form carefully.
October 25, 2018: Justice Belobaba certified a settlement class and approved notices to the class regarding the Deutsche Bank settlement. You can find a copy of His Honour’s Order and the Settlement Agreement here.
August 27, 2018: Plaintiffs reached a settlement with the Deutsche Bank defendants.
November 7, 2017: Plaintiffs’ Amended Statement of Claim was issued.
February 28, 2017: The Plaintiffs’ Motion Record on Certification was served on the Defendants.
May 13, 2016: The Statement of Claim was issued.
April 15, 2016: A Notice of Action was issued.