JP Morgan Chase employees could be charged in alleged $6 billion cover-up

Two former employees of JP Morgan Chase & Co, the nation's biggest bank, may soon be arrested on fraud charges in what has been become known as the "London Whale" case.

Federal authorities may charge Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, who worked for bank in London, with covering up $6 billion in losses in 2012. The United States is expected to seek extradition to New York. The potential legal proceedings were first reported in the New York Times.

Martin-Artajo was a manager who oversaw trading, while Grout was a low-level trader, according to the Times.

The FBI and federal prosecutors are leading a separate investigation into whether the company downplayed the scandal's potential fallout in an investors meeting that took place in 2012.

The probes could lead to a fine and admonishment of JP Morgan Chase, which may also be forced to increase internal controls that were unable to prevent the trading loss, the Times reported, citing people briefed on the matter.

Investigators in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan have also been speaking with the senior trader behind the scandal, Bruno Iksil, nicknamed the London Whale. He is said to be cooperating with the government, the Times reported.

Since the scandal broke last year, JP Morgan Chase has overhauled its control structure, launched an internal investigation and fired the employees involved in risky trades.

The pending arrests will represent one of the more aggressive moves by the Obama Administration that just last year set up a task force to investigate the causes of the 2008 economic collapse. The administration has faced criticism for not prosecuting any senior executives linked to the financial crisis.

Al Jazeera