City banker pleads guilty to Libor fraud in first rate manipulation investigation UK conviction
A senior banker at a British bank has pleaded guilty to charges in relation to the rigging of the Libor interbank lending rate.
The unnamed banker, who is currently on bail, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud as part of the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) investigation into alleged Libor rate manipulation.
A sentence will be handed down to the banker in due course after pleading guilty on Friday at Southwark Crown Court. The banker can not be named for legal reasons.
It's the first conviction in the Libor rigging scandal secured by the SFO in the UK, which first began investigating allegations that the Libor benchmark interest rate had been manipulated in 2012.
Another 11 individuals have been charged in connection with the investigation and await trial.
In the US, two men have already pleaded guilty to fraud offences in connection to Libor rigging.
Seven financial institutions have made settlements with various regulators as part of a global investigation into the scandal, while a number of institutions are still being investigated by authorities.