AlQa'dah 23, 1433, Oct 9, 2012, SPA -- Traders who try to rig the Libor benchmark interest rate, stock indexes or oil prices would be sent to jail for a minimum of five years under rules backed overwhelmingly by an influential European Parliament committee on Tuesday. The updating of EU market abuse rules was proposed last year but news in June of Barclays' record 290 million pounds fine for rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, prompted lawmakers to include extra provisions for benchmark rates, Reuters reported. The assembly's economic affairs committee voted by 39 to 1 to specify that insider dealing or manipulation of benchmarks such as Libor is illegal. The UK Financial Services Authority had to fine Barclays for breaches of its general principles as Libor does not come under the EU's current market abuse rules. The revised EU law will make rigging or attempted rigging of a wide range of markets and benchmarks, not just Libor, a criminal offence. These include interest rates, currencies, inter bank offered rates, indexes and other types of financial instruments, as well as the EU's carbon market and commodities benchmarks including gold, cocoa and Brent crude. The revised rules would give enforcement authorities much wider discretion than under the current system as they also make attempts to manipulate markets an offence, regardless of the outcome. -- SPA
