Glen Point Capital co-founder Neil Phillips was convicted of manipulating the foreign-exchange market to hit a “barrier” rate and trigger a $20 million option, Bloomberg News reported. The former hedge fund executive was found guilty on Wednesday of commodities fraud by a jury in federal court in Manhattan. Prosecutors had accused Phillips of directing $725 million in trades on Dec. 26, 2017, to intentionally raise the value of the South African rand against the U.S. dollar. Phillips was found not guilty of a related conspiracy charge. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the fraud count. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman scheduled his sentencing for March 14. The defense had argued that his actions were part of a longer-term strategy and also fell within standard industry practices associated with barrier trading. He contended that alleged victim Morgan Stanley, which sold Glen Point the option for around $2 million, engaged in similar trades to hedge its own risk from the bet.
