Jail for bankers who fiddle any benchmarks
TRADERS who manipulate currency, commodity and interest rate benchmarks could be jailed under a major expansion of the Libor laws, George Osborne said last night.
Previously, the focus of the new rules – the centrepiece of which is a prison term of up to seven years for market abuse – was on Libor.
But the Bank of England’s incoming deputy governor Minouche Shafik will work with Financial Conduct Authority boss Martin Wheatley to expand this punishment across a range of benchmarks.
They will make the decision this Autumn and legislation will be drafted by April.
“I am going to deal with abuses, tackle the unacceptable behaviour of the few and ensure that markets are fair for the many who depend on them,” said chancellor Osborne.