JPMorgan Chase announced Tuesday it would pay a total of $410 million to settle allegations of energy market manipulation in California and the Midwest.
In a case that raised eyebrows on both Wall Street and regulatory circles, the giant financial firm said it would pay a civil penalty of $285 million and disgorge $125 million, the latest settlement in a series of high-profile investigations by U.S. federal energy regulators against banks.
The deal closes the book on a probe that dates back more than two years, when California's power grid operator noticed the Wall Street bank was using an "abusive" trading strategy that effectively forced the grid to pay for plants to sit idle, ultimately adding to customers' costs.
Reuters contributed to this report.
