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From Reuters:
More than a dozen current and former employees of several large banks under investigation for allegedly trying to manipulate benchmark interest rates have hired defense lawyers over the past year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The individuals, some whom were employed in either New York or London by Barclays, UBS and Citigroup, have retained lawyers as a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. gathers evidence for potential criminal charges, these people said.
In the case of Barclays and UBS, multiple law firms are representing individuals who have worked at those banks, sources said.
Remember, after the Banksters were caught ripping off the world the CFTC and the Department of Justice assigned fines on Barclays. It now appears Barclays may have cooperated against the other banks, there is no way Barclays could have rigged LIBOR by itself given the way the survey works it is possible all 16 banks participated. Are we FINALLY going to see the Banksters face prosecution?
9 Comments
We can hope so!
Thanks so much for posting this, DSW. It made my day. Rec’d!
The whole of LIBORgate qualifies in my view as a “scheme or artifice to defraud” in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1343. This is a 5-year federal felony with a maximum fine of $250,000. It has a 5-year statute of limitations. So far, so good.
If a violation of Sec. 1343 “affects a financial institution,” however, the statute of limitations is hiked to 10 years. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 3293, subsection 2.
On reports I’ve seen, LIBORgate could also qualify as bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1344, as being a
“scheme or artifice … to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits … owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises.”
Like Sec. 1343 re financial institutions, Sec. 1344 has a 10-year statute of limitations. But it really ups the ante as to penalty.
Sec. 1344 is a 30-year federal felony, with a fine of up to $1,000,000.
Yes, a million here or there is chump change for banksters. Up to 30 years or so in the federal pen, however, is another matter altogether.
And, of course, there’s conspiracy, in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code. Section 371.
Seeing the charging decisions — if any indictments come down — of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. will be of great interest. If this USAO is serious, it’s a dynamite defense lawyers’ job creation program.
Of course, for a bankster target to plead to Sec. 1343 fraud in order to avoid indictment on Sec. 1344 bank fraud could be a good deal.
Eliot’s program on Current tv is worth watching. He knows what is going on, and is able to support his reporting with detailed analysis. Don’t miss it.
“LIBOR is like the sun at the center of the financial universe….This is like finding that the whole world is built on quicksand…goes far beyond a corruption scandal” Matt Taibbi talking to Spitzer above.
“Every interest rate in the world comes back to LIBOR…this is corruption based on corruption based on corruption.–Elliot Spitzer
“….If anything that’s an understatement, Elliot” [Taibbi, Spitzer & Kelleher start laughing]–Dennis Kelleher (Spitzer of Kelleher–”you were…a partner at one of the biggest law firms in the world that represented these guys….You’re not just some crazy guy we dragged in off the street to spew venom at them”)
“Every morning the British Bankers’ Association calls up these banks…All 16 of these banks….that means necessarily it can’t be just one….it’s a cartel style corruption, it’s not just Barclays”–Matt Taibbi
“I think the mob learned from Wall Street, not the other way around– I’m not kidding”–Spitzer
“It’s not a one off example….This isn’t a scandal against LIBOR this is a scandal about the business model of these banks–it’s ‘LIE MORE’–that’s what’s going on here….corruption is at the core….we need to send the cops in and nobody wants to do that.”–Kelleher
“It’s tough for people to wrap their heads around…the scale of this thing…The implications of this are so awesome…it’s hard for people to take in”–Taibbi
“The corruption in our,they’re not even banks…finance and trading companies….unlike in the UK where there’s an opposition party”–Kelleher
“Revolt of the Cities: Eyeing Huge Lawsuits Over Libor Rate-Fixing”
http://larouchepac.com/node/23318
Thanks for the great clip DSWright.
You can’t be serious ?.Elliots program is like all other Corporate TV programs,blame for our predicament is not aimed at both corrupt political entities(GOP & DNC),Elliots program sees 1 political party as villainous.Which is absolute rubbish & isn’t worth rewarding with viewership.
Look folks we live in a corporatocracy & expecting truth to come from any Corporate TV machine is folly.
No one tells the truth that works in Corporate TV.The truth to ‘em is what the Corporation says it is.
Preface: It should always be understood that whatever I put forth is merely my opinion. I am presenting neither mandate nor revelation, carved in stone, which must be obeyed or believed. We all have free will, don’t we?
Rather than prattle about Elliot’s program or the sterile left/right debate, I think we might want to talk about what We the People might be doing about this.I know this has been suggested before and even got some press a while ago but, I still think it’s a good idea. It didn’t get enough people behind it to make a significant impact but it could.
We should all look for a bona fide, non-profit credit union in our area and transfer all our funnymoney out of Chase, B of A, Wells Fargo, Citi, etc.
For now, we’re stuck with privately issued and controlled money and as long as we keep supporting these too-big-to-fail monstrosities, they will keep getting bigger and more powerful.
The international banking cartel already controls the world economy and virtually all the governments on the planet.If you believe the New World Order is some silly conspiracy theory, you’re in for a very rude awakening.
Anyne ever wonder if we cold invoke RICO and get all these Bankers in one fell swoop. My dad used to rant against the Mafia, which back in the day swindled the fool that went to them for a loan. One hundred fifty percent interest a year got charged to that fool.
But the banks charge us as much as 82,000 percent. (If you’ve ever had yr bank account go into NSF status because you were off in your accounting by 2 bucks, you know what I mean.)
And involvement in this LIBOR activity really should incur as much in penalty for the bankers as the mafia received. I mean, the mafia never has had the ultimate power the Big Banks have now. And banks should be run by people we trust, not hoodlums in three piece suits.
I also saw a headline or two today abut Geithner being involved in some way, through his heading the New York Federal Reserve. If there’s anyone in the world I’d like to see in a striped suit, it would be that demonic jiver/grifter/money cartel “godfather.”
I just wish people would stop calling every scandal that occurs “_______Gate”.
Bad dog, bad dog, stop stealing!
Yeah right!