Senior banker in UK pleads guilty in Libor probe

[LONDON] A senior banker at a leading British bank has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in connection with the manipulation of Libor benchmark interest rates, becoming the first person in the UK to plead guilty to such an offence.

The banker submitted the plea on Friday and an English High Court judge on Tuesday lifted court reporting restrictions on the case.

Two men have already pleaded guilty in the United States to fraud offences linked to the rigging of Libor, a key benchmark against which around US$450 trillion of financial contracts are pegged from consumer loans to derivatives, amid a global investigation.

Paul Robson, a British citizen and former senior trader at Dutch Rabobank and his former colleague, Takayuki Yagami, have pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to rig the London interbank offered rate.

Seven banks and brokerages have so far settled U.S. and UK regulatory allegations of interest rate rigging as a result of a global investigation and 17 men have been charged with fraud-related offences. - Reuters