Washington: The United States has charged two former UBS traders linked to the LIBOR manipulation scandal, officials said Wednesday.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the two individuals were charged with conspiracy for their alleged roles in the scheme.
“By causing UBS and other financial institutions to spread false and misleading information about LIBOR, these alleged conspirators — and others at UBS — manipulated the benchmark interest rate upon which many consumer financial products — including credit cards, student loans, and mortgages — are frequently based,” Holder said.
 “They defrauded the company’s counterparties of millions of dollars. And they did so primarily to reap increased profits, and secure bigger bonuses, for themselves.”
In the same remarks, Holder said the Justice Department was filing federal charges of felony fraud against UBS Securities Japan — a subsidiary of UBS.
“The company has agreed to plead guilty to this charge, to admit to its criminal conduct, and to pay a $100 million fine,” it said.
UBS, Holder added, has agreed to pay a penalty of $400 million to the US government, as well as to admit and accept responsibility for its misconduct and to continue cooperating with the ongoing probe.
“Combined with roughly $1 billion in regulatory penalties and disgorgement, these criminal fines and penalties bring today’s total resolution to approximately $1.5 billion,” Holder said.
Regulators slapped $1.5 billion in fines on Swiss banking giant UBS earlier Wednesday, the second-largest amount ever, for rigging the key global LIBOR interest rate in a deepening scandal threatening more than a dozen other banks.
The investigations by Swiss, British and US regulators revealed evidence of massive misconduct in the setting of the LIBOR rate, a global benchmark affecting products from student loans to mortgages.
The LIBOR rate is a reference point for vast ranges of financial contracts around the world worth about $300 trillion, and revelations that it had been rigged have damaged the reputation of the City of London financial centre.
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