(Bloomberg) -- Three ex-Mizuho International Plc bond traders accused of market abuse in the weeks before and after the Brexit vote in 2016 face an industry ban from the UK regulator.

It’s the first time the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has publicly targeted a group of traders in a market manipulation probe. The trio are accused of placing large “misleading” orders for certain trades that they had no intention of executing between June and July 2016. 

The moves gave “a false or misleading impression as to the supply or demand of Italian Government Bond futures,” the FCA said.

The FCA recommends the ban and a fine of £395,000 ($478,582) for Diego Urra. The FCA also said in its Wednesday statement that Jorge Lopez Gonzalez and Poojan Sheth should be get penalties of £100,000 each.

All three traders have contested their bans to a London tribunal that ultimately decides on the punishment. The FCA has made no findings against Mizuho and was cleared of wrongdoing in 2019.

The “individuals repeated this pattern of deliberate and intentional market manipulation on a number of occasions and were dishonest,” the regulator said.

“Mizuho International is not party to these proceedings in relation to former employees, and the FCA has confirmed there are no other investigations or actions pending in respect of these matters,” a spokesperson for Mizuho said.

Some of the Mizuho traders had years of experience in the City. Urra joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. around 2001 and went on to hold roles at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG before joining the Japanese bank in London, FCA records show. 

Lopez-Gonzalez also worked at Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas SA, according to the records. Sheth, who the regulator described as the “least experienced trader on the desk,” joined the firm in 2014.

(Updates with Mizuho statement in the penultimate paragraph)

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.