Bankers found to have rigged Libor rate could face jail

Bankers found to have rigged Libor could face jail after the SFO said it will look to bring criminal charges against those who attempted to manipulate the world’s key borrowing rate.

David Green QC, director of the SFO, said existing legislation could be used to bring criminal actions against banks implicated in the Libor rigging scandal.

Mr Green did not specify the precise charges that could be brought but it is possible bankers found guilty of manipulation could receive prison sentences of up to 10 years.

The decision to pursue prosecutions comes just over three weeks after the SFO formally announced an investigation into Libor and in particular whether it was possible to launch criminal proceedings against individual banks and bankers found to have rigged borrowing rates.

In a statement the SFO said it was “satisfied that existing criminal offences are capable of covering conduct in relation to the alleged manipulation of Libor and related interest rates”.

The SFO has not said which banks are being investigated, but has confirmed that it is looking into “a number of financial institutions”.

However, it is highly likely that major British lenders, including Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, which are already the subject of several international investigations, are among the institutions being looked at by the SFO.

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