The US authorities were aware that three JP Morgan traders were manipulating precious metals markets from the start and intentionally “looked the other way,” Max Keiser believes.

“Eric Holder, who was attorney general under [former US President Barack] Obama when this first came to light, said that market manipulation and fraud were important for the American economy and that he, as the attorney general, could not prosecute,” the host of RT’s Keiser Report says, calling the JP Morgan fraudsters and the likes “too big to jail.”

And that too-big-to-jail was part of the legal landscape for America, and bankers were getting a green light to commit massive fraud.

The fact that precious metals traders at JP Morgan made millions through fraudulent trades, operating a criminal conspiracy to manipulate prices called ‘spoofing’, has been an open secret for years, with Max himself describing the scheme back in 2011.

Also on rt.com JP Morgan traders accused of manipulating price of gold, silver for a DECADE, as DoJ tries to look tough on Wall Street

However, not until this week did the Justice Department charge the traders with fraud, as well as “conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise involved in interstate or foreign commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity” – a charge normally reserved for members of an organized crime ring. Max Keiser says the near decade of neglect towards this major case has actually been somewhat of an official agenda for the authorities.

That was the message from the Justice Department – commit all the fraud you need as long as you support the US dollar.

“If you need to manipulate the markets and break laws, then we’re going to look the other way because the Justice Department believes that defrauding the markets is sacrosanct with the American way.” Keiser believes the US authorities have always “equated Americanism and capitalism with fraud.”

“Thanks to Eric Holder, Barack Obama and now Donald Trump – this is the American economy,” he states.

However, it is not clear why the Justice Department decided to change course, and whether it may signal a larger crackdown. The department has lost its last two price manipulation cases in court.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section