The U.S. Department of Justice investigation of criminal activity in the precious metals markets has taken an interesting new turn.

According to Bloomberg, prosecutors are targeting the bank itself and not just the individual traders involved in rigging prices. If convicted, the bank as an institution could be held accountable for years of structured and pervasive cheating.

The DOJ investigation of JPMorgan’s metals trading desk began more than two years ago. It came on the heels of a guilty plea by Deutsche Bank.

Deutsche Bank copped to spoofing prices and agreed to turn state’s evidence. DB then handed over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, along with chat logs and voice recordings which featured traders gleefully conspiring with one another to cheat clients and other market participants.

Officials used that trove of information and other evidence to charge six JPMorgan traders with crimes. Some already pleaded guilty and made their own agreements to cooperate with the larger investigation.

But last week’s revelations from Bloomberg are the first confirmation that the mega bank is itself in the crosshairs.

Bank of America followed Deutsche Bank’s lead and moved to settle charges. The company paid fines and promised internal reforms. Many expect the extraordinarily well-connected JPMorgan Chase & Co will be granted similar leniency.

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