Competition Law and Financial Crime: A Comparative Analysis of International Responses to Market Manipulation

Financial crime is a significant drain on economies across the world. This book looks at one aspect of financial crime, that of benchmark interest rate manipulation by competing banks, with the aim of identifying the best approach for the United Kingdom to take to the enforcement of laws against future benchmark manipulation.

The manipulation of any benchmark interest rate by bankers, colluding for their own gain, is likely to negatively affect a large proportion of the population, as many people have loans pegged to a benchmark interest rate. This monograph investigates the approach the UK took to enforcing action against the benchmark manipulation which took place in the London Interbank Offered Rate and the Foreign Exchange benchmark manipulation scandals. As part of this investigation, the approaches taken in the European Union and the United States of America are examined and compared to the approach taken in the UK for the same crime to draw conclusions and make recommendations to improve the UK approach for future instances of benchmark manipulation. The work fills an important gap in the literature by comparing and evaluating the laws and enforcement policies pertaining to the use of competition law in counteracting benchmark manipulation in the UK, EU and US. It argues that competition law is an effective enforcement tool when used in the financial services sector and that it provides regulators with a wide range of enforcement options when a breach of competition law is established.

The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policymakers working in the areas of financial crime, competition law, comparative law and criminal justice.

Diana Johnson is Solicitor and Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her research is on financial crime and competition law, with a particular focus on corporate criminal liability, deferred prosecution agreements, fraud and money laundering. Diana has written several publications on these topics and has submitted evidence to policymakers and influential organisations including the Law Commission, the FCA and the Treasury. Diana is a Board Member for the South West Fraud Forum and has experience of contributing to an Innovate UK funded project, which examines the submission of suspicious activity reports to the National Crime Agency for the regulated sectors.