South Africa's watchdog could impose big fines after FX probe

PRETORIA, June 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's competition watchdog may impose some of its highest fines after its investigation on the suspected currency-rigging global and local banks, its head said on Monday.

The Competition Commission has accused dealers at banks of colluding by using an instant messaging chat room called "ZAR Domination", to coordinate their trading activities when giving quotes to customers who buy or sell currencies. ZAR is the South African currency code used in financial markets.

"It's a big investigation involving massive amounts of turnover and if you just have a look at our guidelines, you can't escape the conclusion that these are going to be fairly significant fines," head of the Commission, Tembinkosi Bonakele, told Reuters in an interview. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by James Macharia)