2016 is shaping up as the year when countless conspiracy theories will be confirmed to be non-conspiracy fact: from central bank rigging of capital markets, to political rigging of elections, to media rigging of public sentiment, and now, commercial bank rigging of both silver and gold. In short, "tinfoil hat-wearing nutjobs living in their parents basement" were right all along.

In early October, we reported that "In A Major Victory For Gold And Silver Traders, Manipulation Lawsuit Against Gold-Fixing Banks Ordered To Proceed," however one bank was exempt: Deutsche Bank. The reason why was known since April, when we first reported that Deutsche Bank had agreed to settle the class action lawsuit filed in July 2014 accusing a consortium of banks of plotting to manipulate gold and silver. Among the charges that Deutsche Bank effectively refused to contest were the following:

employment of a manipulative device claims

bid-rigging, and unjust enrichment.

price fixing and unlawful restraint

price manipulation claims

aiding and abetting and principal-agent claims.

An affidavit filed in October shed more light on the settlement process: