JPMorgan Refuses To Hand Over Emails, Sued Over Trading Loss

JPMorgan Chase reasserted attorney-client privilege as the reason it will not hand over emails to U.S. regulators investigating the bank for possible electricity market manipulation, according to court documents filed on Friday.

Reuters reports that the investigation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission follows complaints from grid operators that JPMorgan traders may have bid up electricity prices by some $73m in California and the Midwest.

In the meantime, Bloomberg reports that Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a motion seeking to lead a proposed class-action lawsuit against the firm involving the activities of the U.K. trader known as the 'London Whale'.

Ohio pension funds lost more than $27.5m due to the alleged fraud, DeWine’s office said today in a statement. Spokesman Dan Tierney, speaking in a telephone interview, said the state is seeking lead plantiff status in the case because of 'the size of the losses'.

Ohio said its pension fund managers were given 'false and misleading information' that hid the true nature of the bank’s trades.