The alleged conspiracy was revealed in an April 1997 suicide note from Gerhard Praschak, who headed the Austrian bank Kontrollbank. The conduct was subsequently investigated by the European Commission, which has potentially implicated over 120 banks in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

The action was filed by John L. Sniado III, a New York resident who traveled to Europe regularly during the 1980s and exchanged American dollars for European currencies at various banks. He seeks to represent all persons and businesses in the United States who paid foreign exchange fees at supracompetitive rates. The defendants are eight Austrian banks, four Dutch banks, five Italian banks, and one German bank. Sniado alleged that the banks exchanged millions of dollars of European currency in the United States and in Europe for supracompetitive fees.

The following banks are named as defendants in the action:
Bank Austria, AG
Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG
Erste Bank Der Osterreichisechen Sparkassen AG
Bank Fur Arbeit Und Wirtschaft AG
Osterreichische Postsparkasse
Raiffeisenlandesbank Northern Austria-Vienna
Northern Austria Landesbank-Hypothekenbank
Osterreichische Volksbanken AG
ABN Amro Bank N.Y., Inc.
GWK Bank N.V.
Fortis N.V.
ING Bank N.V.
Banca Di Roma SpA
Banca Nazionale Del La Voro SpA
Banca Intesta
Deutsche Bank AG
Unicredito Italiano SpA

The action was initially dismissed by the district court, but was subsequently reinstated by the court of appeals.