The European parliament has agreed to toughen up laws regarding market abuse today and wrong doers could face 4 year in prison if found guilty. The law need to be formally approved by parliament and EU member states and will come into effect in 2016
“The Libor scandal was market manipulation of the worst kind. We are seeing more alleged and potential manipulation of benchmarks in energy markets such as oil and gas and foreign exchange markets,” said Arlene McCarthy, a British centre-left EU lawmaker who helped to negotiate the deal.
Banks and financial institutions will also become criminally liable for market abuses rather than just individuals according to Reuters.
Some will say too little too late and others will say they’ll see a blue moon before convictions but it’s a step in the right direction. I’ve already heard that a certain large bank will be stopping all terminal messaging in the New Year to anyone not an employee or customer.
It’s a stretch for fiddling in the future
