Bankers found to have rigged Libor could face jail after the Serious Fraud Office said it will look to bring criminal charges against those who attempted to manipulate Libor, a key global borrowing rate.
The Daily Telegraph reports that David Green QC, director of the SFO, said existing legislation could be used to bring criminal actions against banks implicated in the Libor rigging scandal.
Green did not specify the precise charges that could be brought but it is possible bankers found guilty of manipulation could receive prison sentences of up to 10 years.
In the meantime, Reuters reports that police have seized documents at the Milan offices of British bank Barclays as part of an Italian probe into possible manipulation of Euribor lending rates, judicial sources and consumer groups told the news agency on Tuesday.
Finally, Reuters reports that Swiss regulator FINMA said it is questioning UBS and Credit Suisse in an investigation over possible Libor interest rate rigging.
'We are actively going after information that will enable us to make a judgment on what has happened', a FINMA spokesman told Reuters on Monday.
The two banks are not under formal investigation as Swiss banks are legally obliged to cooperate with FINMA, which regulates the country's banks.
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