Japan watchdog recommends $150,000 fine on Nomura’s brokerage unit for alleged market manipulation

TOKYO :Japan’s securities watchdog has recommended imposing a 21.8 million yen ($151,715) penalty on Nomura Holding’s brokerage unit for alleged manipulation in the government bond futures market, it said on Wednesday.
The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) made the recommendation to the banking regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), which hands out such punishments in Japan, the SESC said at a briefing.
An SESC investigation found that a trader at Nomura, Japan’s largest brokerage firm, had manipulated the price of 10-year government bond futures contracts in March 2021, it said.
The trader made a series of derivative transactions in order to induce others to buy or sell government bond future contracts, the SESC said.
The Yomiuri newspaper was first to report that the watchdog was expected to recommend imposing tens of millions of yen in penalties on Nomura’s brokerage unit.
Following the newspaper report, Nomura said it was not in a position to comment but would take such allegations seriously including establishing the facts.
($1 = 143.6900 yen)