WASHINGTON--The Justice Department Monday charged three former
Rabobank traders with fraud in connection with their alleged
manipulation of a key interest rate.
The three derivatives traders, Paul Robson of the United
Kingdom, Paul Thompson of Australia and Tetsuya Motomura of Japan,
allegedly manipulated the yen London interbank offered rate by
submitting false borrowing rates to the association that sets the
benchmark.
The three men are charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to
commit wire fraud and bank fraud, the Justice Department said.
Their former employer, Rabobank, agreed in October to pay $1.07
billion to regulators around the world to settle a probe into its
alleged manipulation of Libor.
Working from offices in Japan, Singapore and the U.K., the men
exchanged messages over the course of four years to coordinate the
submission of false interest rates so that their derivatives
positions would make more money, the Justice Department said.
Lawyers for the men couldn't be immediately reached for
comment.
Write to Andrew Grossman at andrew.grossman@wsj.com
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