‘Essex Boys’ Legal Woes Enter U.K. After Negative Oil Trades

A group of British oil traders who made $700 million in a few hours failed to prevent regulators from obtaining their records, as the legal fallout from when oil markets collapsed below zero in April 2020 spilled into a London court.

Judge Alison Foster said the traders at Vega Capital London Ltd. must hand over information and documents about their activities to the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, after a London court hearing on Wednesday. The FCA was asked to intervene on behalf of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is leading the investigation.

A dozen individuals ...