FBI arrests 48 Wall St forex pros.

FBI agents on Tuesday arrested about 48 Wall Street foreign exchange professionals in a sting targeting several top firms thought to have defrauded small retail investors of millions of dollars.

Federal Bureau of Investigation officers swarmed on 2 World Financial Centre late on Tuesday afternoon and led out men in business suits, taking them away in vans and cars. Some of the men covered their heads with overcoats, while others bowed their heads to hide from television cameras and photographers.

“It’s currency fraud, securities fraud,” said one agent at the scene of the arrests. “It’s been a long investigation. The arrests have been ongoing today”. A Madison Deane and Associates employee, who asked not to be named, said the FBI arrested seven people at his firm, which offers currency broker services.

“We were just sitting there working, and they (FBI) just came in and stormed the place,” the man said, adding that the FBI agents took out three partners, there vice presidents and one broker all in handcuffs. “They had guns. They came in with vests and said ‘Nobody move’,” the employee said.