Dutch co-operative Rabobank has been fined almost $1bn after authorities accused the bank of participating in a widespread scheme to manipulate benchmark interest rates.
The settlement makes Rabobank the fifth financial institution to resolve allegations that its employees tried to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, and other benchmarks.
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Out of the total the Dutch lender will pay a $324m criminal fine to the US Department of Justice as Rabobank enters into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve the charges.
Apart from the U.S. Department of Justice, among the authorities involved in the scrutiny and prosecutions of Rabobank, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, and the Dutch central bank and public prosecutor’s office.
Sipko Schat, a member of Rabobank’s executive board said the bank, under the scrutiny of US authorities, uncovered evidence that approximately 30 of its employees were involved in attempts to manipulate Libor and Euribor, the euro interbank offered rate.
The control scheme stretched from 2005 through 2011 and involved employees in Utrecht, Tokyo, London and New York.
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By GlobalDataRabobank’s CEO Piet Moerland, one of the highest-profile casualties of the global Libor scandal, has resigned from his post.
According to banks and regulators, authorities in the US, UK and elsewhere are continuing to investigate, with nearly a dozen other institutions under scrutiny.
UBS has also received enquiries from US authorities over possible foreign-exchange markets’ manipulations and has taken action against employees in connection with the probe.
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