June 27 (Reuters) - None of ICAP's senior managementwere ever aware of, or involved in, the attempted manipulationof benchmark interest rates, the British broker said in astatement on Thursday.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall StreetJournal said on Wednesday that ICAP executive David Castertonwas included on emails sent in 2007 that documented discussionsbetween ICAP brokers and officials at UBS.
In those emails, UBS had agreed to make quarterly paymentsto ICAP for help in rigging Libor (London Interbank OfferedRate), the Wall Street Journal said.
"Neither the company nor its senior management was aware ofany corrupt payment from any source at any time. All paymentsreceived from UBS were documented and invoiced," ICAP said in anemailed statement on Thursday.
"ICAP strongly refutes that Mr Casterton or anybody else inICAP senior management were ever aware of, or involved in, anyimproper activities in relation to the attempted manipulation ofyen or any other Libor. Any suggestion otherwise is false anddefamatory."
David Casterton is currently head of global broking at ICAP.He could not immediately be reached for comment.
British and U.S. regulators have so far fined three banks atotal of $2.6 billion over the Libor rigging scandal. Two menhave been charged over the rigging.
Last week, British prosecutors alleged in court that formerUBS and Citi trader Tom Hayes had conspired with employees fromat least 10 financial institutions, including ICAP, tomanipulate interest rates over four years.
In its settlement last year with British and U.S. regulatorsover the rate-rigging, UBS admitted that its traders paid bribesto brokers in return for their help in fixing rates. It did notidentify the brokers.
These brokers accepted "corrupt payments" from UBS and alsoengaged in wash" trades - where a bank does two trades thateffectively cancel each other out - to earn more than 170,000pounds in commission, UK regulators said in the Dec. settlement.
ICAP chief executive Michael Spencer has since said that thebrokerage, after conducting internal investigations intopossible rigging, had found no signs of telltale "wash trades"used by banks to reward brokers.
Terry Smith, the CEO of rival Tullett Prebon, saidin March that the firm's internal probes had found wash trades,including interest rate products, but that these were a commonway for brokers and clients to remunerate each other and thatthere was no evidence they were linked to Libormanipulation.
Barclays (BARC)