Libor操纵案 英国警方逮捕三人

A trader who worked for UBS and Citigroup, along with two inter-dealer brokers were questioned by police in London on Tuesday after being targeted in the first arrests in the widening global probe into the manipulation of Libor.

一名曾为瑞银(UBS)和花旗集团(Citigroup)工作的交易员以及两名同业经纪商周二受到伦敦警方讯问，这是全球对伦敦银行同业拆借利率(Libor)操纵案不断扩大的调查中首批被捕的嫌疑人。

The arrests mark a public shift of direction in the investigation into the potential abuse of the benchmark interest rate, which has embroiled at least 20 of the world’s biggest banks and inter-dealer brokers.

这些逮捕标志着对于基准利率可能遭到操纵的调查出现公开的转向，此项调查涉及全球至少20家大型银行和同业经纪商。

Tom Hayes, a 33-year-old former trader who specialised in products pegged to yen-denominated Libor, and whose employment has stretched from Tokyo to London, was arrested and questioned at a London police station on Tuesday after his home was searched by City of London Police and the Serious Fraud Office, people familiar with the investigation told the Financial Times.

知情人士对英国《金融时报》表示，现年33岁、专长于日元计价Libor产品、曾在东京和伦敦任职的前交易员汤姆·海耶斯(Tom Hayes)周二被捕，并在伦敦一家警察局受到讯问。此前伦敦金融城警察局(City of London Police)和英国严重欺诈办公室(Serious Fraud Office, SFO)对他的住宅进行了搜查。

Two employees of RP Martin, a London-based inter-dealer broker, Terry Farr and Jim Gilmour, were also arrested and questioned, other people briefed on the matter said. The pair were known to Mr Hayes, the people said.

其他听取了相关简报的人士表示，总部位于伦敦的同业经纪商RP Martin的两名雇员，泰利·法尔(Terry Farr)和吉姆·吉尔默(Jim Gilmour)，也被捕和受到讯问。上述知情人士表示，海耶斯认识这两人。

None of the men were charged but were still in custody at the time of going to press. Typically in the UK, there is a time lag that can stretch into years between arrests and possible charges being laid in complex economic crime investigations.

上述三人均尚未受到指控，截至记者发稿时仍处于被拘留状态。在英国，在复杂经济犯罪调查中，从逮捕嫌犯到可能的起诉可能会拖上几年时间。

A political firestorm lit by Barclays’ record $450m civil settlement in June has focused on the behaviour of bankers rather than brokers, although the latter have publicly admitted they have received regulatory requests for information.

今年6月，巴克莱(Barclays)支付创纪录的4.5亿美元民事和解金，这件事引发了一场政治风暴，其焦点在于银行家而不是经纪商的不端行为，尽管后者公开承认收到了监管部门向其索取相关资料的要求。

The targets of Tuesday’s arrests signal that the SFO has broadened out its inquiries from Barclays – whose issues stemmed mainly from alleged manipulation of US-dollar Libor and Euribor, the euro equivalent – to yen-based Libor dealings by other banks.

上述三人周二被捕表明，SFO已把调查范围从巴克莱扩大到其他银行的日元Libor交易行为。巴克莱的问题主要在于涉嫌操纵美元Libor和欧元银行间同业拆借利率(Euribor)。

Libor is the umbrella term for benchmark rates denominated in multiple currencies over various time periods. It underpins the terms of $350tn of contracts worldwide including mortgages, the cost of corporate lending and the interest added to credit card bills.

Libor是一个笼统的术语，涵盖不同期限、不同货币的基准利率。它支撑着全球价值350万亿美元的合约，包括抵押贷款、企业借贷成本和信用卡债务利息。

The short statement published by the SFO included the detail that all the suspects arrested were British nationals – a hint of the difficulties borne out of a sprawling probe where at least ten authorities across the globe are vying to take action.

SFO发布的简短声明包含这样一个细节，即所有被捕嫌疑人都是英国公民，这暗示了全球至少10家监管机构竞相采取行动的大范围调查中的困难。

UBS, meanwhile, is in advanced settlement negotiations with the UK Financial Services Authority, US counterparts and the Swiss regulator, after winning partial leniency on any fine through co-operation with Canadian prosecutors and the US Department of Justice.

与此同时，瑞银正与英国金融服务管理局(Financial Services Authority, FSA)以及美国和瑞士的相应监管部门进行深入的和解谈判。此前，瑞银通过与加拿大检方和美国司法部(DoJ)合作，在罚金上争取到一定程度的宽大处理。

nek in London