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LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK's Serious Fraud Office or SFO on Friday issued the first criminal proceedings against ten individuals accused of manipulating the Euro Interbank Offered Rate or Euribor.
Of the ten individuals, six are employees of German lender Deutsche Bank AG, while the remaining four are employees of British lender Barclays PLC. The defendants will make their first appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 11, 2016.
The SFO said that the investigation was continuing and it will issue criminal proceedings against other individuals in due course. In July 2012, the UK regulator announced that it has decided to accept allegations of the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, and Euribor for investigation on July 6, 2012.
Libor and Euribor are based on daily estimates of the rates or submissions at which banks on a panel can borrow funds in the inter-bank market. They are fundamental to the operation of both UK and international financial markets, including markets in interest rate derivatives contracts.
The Libor scandal, which came to light in 2008, has already led to a series of fines for financial institutions.
In late May this year, five of the world's largest banks, including US financial giants JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc reached settlements totaling about USD5.7 billion with financial regulators in the US, the UK, and Switzerland to resolve charges of foreign exchange rate rigging.
The New York State Department of Financial Services or NYDFS said in late April that Deutsche Bank will pay USD2.5 billion to resolve charges of manipulating benchmark interest rates. These include the Libor, the Euribor, and Euroyen Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate or Tibor.
The NYDFS also said that Deutsche Bank will terminate and ban individual employees who engaged in misconduct as well as install an independent monitor for New York Banking Law violations.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
