Serious Fraud Office ends Lloyds Libor probes because of “insufficient evidence” July 4, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a criminal investigation into Libor manipulation at Lloyds Banking Group, removing a cloud over the lender. The SFO dropped the case because it lacked evidence, despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s previous assertion that 16 individuals at Lloyds knew about the Libor fixing. Some lines of inquiry in the [...]
Draft Project Lord Turnbull Report: MPs call on Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency to investigate Lloyd’s-Hbos fraud further June 22, 2018 MPs are calling for an investigation into potential criminality regarding the handling by Lloyds Banking Group of a fraud at its Hbos Reading unit more than a decade ago and into the role of auditor KPMG. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, which is chaired by Kevin Hollinrake MP, has urged the [...]
Tom Hayes’ lawyer slams lack of disclosure around $100m Citi settlement over Libor rigging in US June 20, 2018 The lawyer for Tom Hayes, a former Citi banker jailed for rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), has slammed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for failing to disclose the bank's recent settlement with a group of US states over allegations it manipulated the interest rate benchmark. The banking giant reached a $100m (£76m) settlement [...]
Former Barclays trader accused of Euribor rigging was ‘lowballing’ whistleblower, court hears June 19, 2018 A former Barclays trader on trial for allegedly rigging the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) was a whistleblower for the lowballing scandal that rocked the banking industry, a court has heard. "Lowballing" is a term used to describe the scandal that engulfed European and British banking when some banks during the credit crisis moved [...]
The system was flawed, says lawyer acting for trader accused of Euribor rigging June 14, 2018 The barrister defending a former Barclays trader accused of taking part in a conspiracy to rig the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) has said the system was "flawed" and that his client never acted dishonestly. Sean Larkin QC is defending Carlo Palombo against accusations of rigging the interest rate relied on by a number of [...]
Euribor developer says it was ‘natural’ for banks to consider their commercial interests in rate submissions June 4, 2018 A senior executive responsible for developing the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), which became the centre of a rigging scandal, has said it was "just natural" for traders to take into account their banks' commercial interests when submitting rates into the market. Helmut Konrad, a former president of the ACI in Germany who helped [...]
Former Barclays Euribor trader describes losing “a lot of money” in first trade May 29, 2018 A former Barclays trader who stands accused of rigging the European Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) for commercial gain told a London court she feared losing her job when she lost "a lot of money" on her first trade. Danish national Sisse Bohart, 40, told Southwark crown court that despite being given a target of raising [...]
SFO brings further charges against two people in ongoing Unaoil investigation May 22, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it is bringing further charges in the ongoing investigation into accusations of bribery, corruption and money laundering at Unaoil. The SFO said today that Basil Al Jarah and Ziad Akle have been charged with conspiracy to give corrupt payments to secure the award of a contract worth [...]
Barclays Qatari loan fraud charges thrown out by Crown Court May 22, 2018 Barclays celebrated a significant victory over the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday when the Crown Court dismissed charges surrounding the bank’s huge capital raising during the financial crisis a decade ago. The SFO alleged that a $3bn (£2.2bn) loan Barclays gave Qatari investors led to the Qatari acquisition of shares in a Barclays fundraising, an [...]
Russian heyday of corruption is over, says MP on release of report into Kremlin money in London May 21, 2018 The days when Russian corruption was an acceptable part of business are over, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has said. Speaking to City A.M ahead of the publication of a new report into corrupt Kremlin-connected money in the capital, Tom Tugendhat said the issue needed to be taken “very seriously”. The report, [...]