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Landmark cartel prosecution dropped
After charges were first laid in 2018, a criminal cartel prosecution against Citigroup was dropped by the Australian Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Lauren Croft
Firm: Herbert Smith Freehills (Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited), Minter Ellison (Citi executive Itay Tuchman).
Value: N/A.
Area: Finance.
Key players: Herbert Smith Freehills represented Citigroup Global Markets Australia. The team was led by partners Luke Hastings, Andrew Eastwood, Liza Carver and Christine Wong.
MinterEllison represented Mr Tuchman. The team was led by Beverley Newbold, Philip Stefanovski, Ross Freeman and Geoff Carter, who specialise in dispute resolution and competition law.
Deal significance: The landmark prosecution is one of only a handful of criminal cartel proceedings brought in Australia to date and the first to consider the application of cartel laws to financial markets activity.
HSF partner Luke Hastings said that he was “privileged to have worked with Citi on this significant matter”.
“We are very pleased with this result for Citi and its employees,” he said.
MinterEllison partner Beverley Newbold added: “We are delighted with the result for Itay, and also for the other accused.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
