$77Million Settlement in Amaranth Market Manipulation Lawsuit

New York, NY: Preliminary approval has been granted by a federal judge of a $77.1 million settlement in a securities lawsuit against Amaranth Advisors LLC brought by traders who allege the hedge fund manipulated the natural gas market.

According to Businessweek, Amaranth collapsed in 2006 after losing $6.6 billion on natural gas trades. In August 2009, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that Amaranth paid $7.5 million to settle market manipulation allegations however, in their suit, the traders presented an expert who estimated damages at $3.5 billion. In April of this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a $30 million civil penalty against Brian Hunter, an Amaranth trader accused of manipulating the natural gas market in 2006.

A hearing on final approval of the class-action, or group, accord is reportedly scheduled for March 27 and, if approved, could pave the way for investor reimbursement.

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Published on Dec-20-11