BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission could propose
criminalizing the manipulation of financial indices such as Libor, the
EU’s chief financial regulator said on Monday.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier told the European
Parliament here that he had already decided to amend the Commission’s
proposed directive on market abuses to make clear references to index
rigging and that he was contemplating “sanctions, potentially criminal
sanctions” for such activities under the EU’s financial sanctions
regulation.
“We’ve seen that we do need to have powers to dealing with cases
like this,” said Barnier.
Barclays’ $450 million settlement with UK and US regulators over
allegations it manipulated the Libor benchmark lending rate, showed that
“scandalous and illegal acts can still take place,” he said.
–Paris newsroom, +33142715540; jduffy@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$B$$$,M$$BE$]
