Market-rigging laws will also cover currency, gold, oil and silver
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Version 0 of 1. Laws to make the manipulation of market benchmarks a criminal offence – sparked by the Libor rigging scandal – will also cover currency, gold, oil and silver markets by 1 April, the government has said. The move announced on Monday is the latest by the coalition government to clamp down on malpractice in the City of London, whose reputation has been further tarnished this year by the exposure of traders colluding to manipulate currency rates. “Ensuring that the key rates that underpin financial markets here and around the world are robust, and that anyone who seeks to manipulate them is subject to the full force of the law, is an important part of our long-term economic plan,” George Osborne said. Under the law, people found guilty of manipulation can be jailed for up to seven years. It was originally introduced to cover the London interbank offered rate (Libor) market after a global manipulation scandal which resulted in banks being fined billions in 2012. The Treasury said seven benchmarks including the dominant global benchmark in the $5.3tn-a-day currency market – the WM/Reuters 4pm London fix – would be subject to the law, pending a consultation by Britain’s financial watchdog. The EU has criminalised the rigging of financial market benchmarks after the Libor scandal, but those laws will not take effect until 2016. A former City trader was arrested last week in connection with a criminal investigation into allegations that bank traders tried to manipulate currency markets. According to the Financial Times the trader had worked for Royal Bank of Scotland. |