In a recent legal development, the defendants implicated in a lawsuit surrounding allegations of improper conduct related to Currenex are pursuing the testimony of two individuals: Jad Sarmo and David Hastings. On September 18, 2025, a motion was filed in the Southern District Court of New York to obtain letters rogatory, aimed at allowing the gathering of testimony in the United Kingdom.
The companies involved in the lawsuit include Currenex, Inc., State Street Global Markets International Limited, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, HC Technologies, LLC, and State Street Bank and Trust Company. The defendants are seeking testimony from Sarmo, a former employee of DSquare Trading Limited, and Hastings, who previously worked at Currenex.
The plaintiffs contend that they suffered harm due to Currenex’s alleged lack of transparency regarding its anonymous “Executable Streaming Prices Trading Model” used prior to 2015. They claim they believed the platform operated as a “central limit order book,” where all bids could match with all offers, with the expectation that ties were resolved based on a strict first-in, first-out (FIFO) principle.
The defendants, however, dispute these allegations. They assert that the plaintiffs were aware that the platform did not function as a central limit order book and did not adhere to FIFO rules. Instead, they argue, prior to 2015, the platform used priority settings that favored liquidity from institutional providers.
An additional defense invoked by the defendants is related to the statute of limitations, suggesting that the plaintiffs should have known about the alleged issues long before initiating the lawsuit.
The requested testimony from Sarmo and Hastings is believed to be relevant to the case. Sarmo, who served as Head of Technology at DSquare from 2006 until 2021, possesses insight into the foreign exchange operations conducted by DSquare and had a role in the development of its trading software.
Hastings, who was the Global Head of Strategic Relationships at Currenex from 2006 to 2009 and later worked for a consulting firm, is expected to provide key information regarding the platform’s priority settings and the communication surrounding them during his tenure. His experience in marketing Currenex’s products may shed light on how the platform’s operations were represented to clients at that time.
Furthermore, during his stint at Velador Associates in 2019, Hastings may have exchanged knowledge regarding the platform’s operations that could potentially support the defendants’ claim, asserting that the plaintiffs’ lawsuit is untimely based on their prior awareness of the issues raised.
Given that Sarmo and Hastings are located in the United Kingdom and are not directly involved in the litigation, the defendants are unable to access their testimony without formal international assistance, hence the request for court-sanctioned letters rogatory to facilitate the process.