UK central bank drawn into market manipulation scandal
Associated Press, 10 April 2017
LONDON – British politicians are seeking an investigation into allegations that the Bank of England was also involved in manipulating a key market interest rate during the financial crisis.
The BBC says it has a recording from 2008 between officials at Barclays bank that indicates the Bank of England was trying to influence the interest rate, called Libor. Several banks have been fined billions for tampering with the interest rate, which is used to price services like loans globally.
Labour party lawmaker John McDonnell says “this is an extremely serious revelation that contradicts past assurances about the role of the Bank of England in the Libor scandal.”
The central bank told the BBC that Libor was not regulated at the time and that it has been helping in past investigations.
