Korea Said to Fine Barclays, Citi for Naked Short Selling (1)

South Korea has fined Barclays Plc and Citigroup Inc. for naked short selling, according to people familiar with the matter, as the nation ramps up its fight against such illegal trading practices.

Barclays and Citi were fined 13.7 billion won ($9.5 million) and 4.7 billion won ($3.2 million), respectively, by the Securities and Futures Commission, said three people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

The final penalties by the SFC were roughly 80% lower than the fines proposed earlier by the Financial Supervisory Service as the commission deemed the banks’ violation of rules as unintentional, two of ...