LIBOR scandal, update:
The Telegraph has:
Quote:
In a statement the SFO [Serious Fraud Office] said: “Three men, aged 33, 41, and 47, have been arrested and taken to a London police station for interview in connection with the investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR. The men are all British nationals currently living in the United Kingdom.”
And:
Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) (NYSE:BCS) declined to comment. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS) (LON:RBS) and UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) were not immediately available to comment.
Quote:
Green, who has overhauled the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) since taking the helm in April, said the key to success in the “hugely challenging” investigation into the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor) lay in maintaining focus.”
“(This) … may mean not concentrating on the huge picture that Libor internationally presents,” he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. “It means focusing on specific parts of that larger picture.”
Green declined to be drawn in on whether these developments heralded the first arrests in the case – often made at an early stage in UK investigations. “I think you’ll see some developments certainly in early 2013,” he said.
But, he is keen to use new “methods of investigation and sources of intelligence” that he believes have not to date been regularly used by the SFO, outsourcing to experts such as the London police forces.
Comment:
As predicted: We are now moving down the corporate ladder.
This is NOT going to be over any time soon. The problem remains that when squeezed, these minions might reveal hitherto undisclosed information – not necessarily LIBOR; but it might be embarrassing enough to senior management.
