Siobhain Egan writes that both Bloomberg (12/11/2012) and the Telegraph (09/11/2012) report that the SFO (working alongside FSA and the CPS) are due to make arrests within the next month. The Telegraph, in the body of its article, refers to charges being brought, but we think that is a little presumptuous. One wonders what precipitated this decision. It is still very early days; the investigation only opened in July after the SFO were given an additional (and relatively small) budget of £3 million.
Perhaps it was the French Prosecutor’s recent decision to make arrests, or the US success when securing massive payments from Barclays and HSBC (amongst others) in this apparent international race to secure arrests in the Libor scandal. Perhaps it is the leaked HM CPSI report due to be released shortly, which details serious failings within the SFO re staff, training and results.
It seems that that former traders / rate setters with UBS, RBS, and Barclays PLC are within the sights of the SFO.
If you are concerned that you will be facing arrest or investigation, you will need skilled, experienced solicitors who are familiar with the SFO and their mind-set.
Contact Jeffrey Lewis, Siobhain Egan, Miles Herman, Keith Wood