Two Norwegian traders, Svend Egil Larsen and Peder Veiby, were handed suspended prison sentences on charges related to market manipulation. According to the Financial Times, the two were charged for figuring out how a computerized trading system at a large American firm that is a subsidy of Interactive Brokers would react to certain stock moves and using that information to manipulate the price of low-volume stocks.
The two were sentenced to a total of 210 days in prison and fined the amount they made on the trades. Veiby’s lawyer, Anders Brosveet, told the Financial Times, “They had an idea of how the computer would change the prices but that does not make them responsible for what the computer did.”
Both men have said they intend to appeal their convictions.
Norwegians convicted for outwitting trading system (FT)
Norwegian traders convicted for outsmarting US stock broker algorithm
