US decides to drop criminal charges against former JPMorgan traders in ‘London Whale’ case

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Pedestrians cross a foot bridge towards the offices of global financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the commercial office block No. 1 Canada Square, in the Canary Wharf financial, shopping and business district in London, U.K.

The U.S. has decided to drop criminal charges against former JPMorgan derivatives traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout in the 2012 “London Whale” case.

The two were charged with conspiring to falsify books and records of JPMorgan, to commit wire fraud, to make false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to commit securities fraud.

Martin-Artajo and Grout live outside of the U.S. and have refused to appear in court, according to court documents, and efforts to secure their appearance, including through extradition, have “been unsuccessful or deemed futile.”

The U.S. had anticipated using testimony from Bruno Iksil, a former colleague of the two defendents, who became known as the “London whale.” However, after reviewing Ikskil’s statements and writings, prosecutors decided they could no longer rely on his testimony.

The “London Whale” case lost JPMorgan nearly $6.2 billion.

–Reuters contributed to this story.