Since last year’s forex guilty plea, Barclays has reviewed more than 2.4 million documents and 100,000 audio calls about its foreign-exchange practices and interviewed dozens of current and ex-employees. Now the U.S. government is using that information along with information from 2 other banks - JPMorgan and Citigroup - to broaden its long-running investigation into the manipulation of forex markets.

The 3 banks have cooperated to provide evidence of a potential new antitrust conspiracy in the currency spot market that prosecutors say involves currencies that are different from the ones at the center of their 2015 guilty pleas.

The disclosure shows the Justice Department isn’t finished with its examination of global financial markets for collusion after several years of investigations into currency trading and interest-rate benchmarks that have led to about $4.5 billion in criminal penalties. It also speaks to the mass of investigatory evidence that Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s department will pass on to her successor under President-elect Donald Trump.

“The United States has an ongoing investigation into this conduct, which the defendant has significantly advanced through its cooperation,” prosecutors said about Barclays’s assistance in a Dec. 1 court filing.

LOWER PENALTIES.    For its cooperation, Barclays is seeking a nearly 50% reduction from its $1.2 billion penalty – significantly lower than the fines called for under federal guidelines. Likewise, Citigroup and JPMorgan expect to get reductions in their penalties which, under the guidelines, would be $1.4 billion and $846 million, respectively.

GUILTY PLEAS.    The 3 banks, along with RBC, pleaded guilty on 5/20/15, to conspiring with each other and UBS Group to manipulate currency transactions by coordinating trades. UBS, which received immunity from charges in the currency case, pleaded guilty for rigging benchmark interest rates after violating the terms of an earlier resolution.

Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan and RBS are all scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, 12/15. That’s when we’ll all learn the final penalties.