More to be charged over Libor scandal
Chief fraud prosecutor says probe into rigging of interbank interest rate far from over
Britain's leading prosecutor, the Serious Fraud Office, is poised to charge more individuals in connection with a global investigation into the Libor interest-rate-rigging scandal.
To date, US and British authorities have charged seven men and fined four financial firms about US$2.7 billion in the investigation into the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor), used as a benchmark for more than US$300 trillion of products from derivatives to home loans.
David Green, who has led the fraud office since April last year, said the inquiry into Libor, a central cog in the global financial system, remained the largest and most complex case on his books - and he expected to be judged by its results.
"I anticipate there will be further [Libor] charges this autumn," Green said. "Thereafter, there will be further significant developments … We're not finished by a long chalk."
He said relations with the US Department of Justice, which has had a near three-year head start in the Libor investigation, were "genuinely helpful and constructive".
Although the justice department has been first to charge some British suspects in the scandal, Green said everyone understood that they should be tried in Britain rather than extradited to the United States.
