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The UK is the home of financial fraud. Why are these guys bothering getting insider information to wash money? Why don't they just wash it through London proper

The UK is the home of financial fraud. Why are these guys bothering getting insider information to wash money? Why don't they just wash it through London property using an anonymous company like everyone else? Also let me tell you the next BoE meeting outcome: keep interest rates at rock-bottom because the UK is in a debt nightmare. How will you wash money with that info? I don't understand the premise here. The "hanging offence" line is laughable. Not a single person went to jail over 2008. The absence of criminal repercussions for financial crimes is the UK's unique selling point. The BoE themselves tried to cover up LIBOR fixing. If you want to find criminals it's not hard. I don't like this article as it supposes that money laundering is at the edge of acceptable behaviour in London. The truth is it's rampant. > “They would discuss whether interest rates were going to rise or fall.” That must have been boring. "They are going to hold them at the zero bound again or the UK will implode" would have been the answer for five years running. Where does this rubbish come from? GCHQ misdirection department or a lone looney?

mabbo 11y ago
Were interest rates that stable 16 years ago?
- rwmj 11y ago
  No. I think the phrase is "up and down like a whore's drawers": http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/Repo.asp http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/Repo.asp Presumably plenty of scope to make money in (eg) forex if you know about interest rate movements a few days in advance.
  - thaumasiotes 11y ago
    I agree that there's plenty of scope to make money there, but I don't understand at all the reported hysteria about "this is a threat to the economy of England". No it isn't.
- branchless 11y ago
  Yes good point, there would have been more advantage in knowing it back then. It still makes little sense as an article and the idea that there is low tolerance of financial crime in the UK is laughable.
  - fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
    >>The source said: “Leaking monetary policy stuff would have been, and still is, a hanging offence,” and an immediate internal inquiry was launched. But it failed to identify where the leak was coming from, so no action was taken and the case was closed. Well, they would have hung him if they could've found him! So said the anonymous source. Since the quote comes from an official at the bank, and not the authorities, I guess it's a euphemism for firing?
    - branchless 11y ago
      No it's probably another silly UK law that is left over from years ago.
hadeharian 11y ago
Yes...the title is mislabeled. It should be something more like "How a criminal got together with friends at BoE".

mabbo 11y ago

Were interest rates that stable 16 years ago?

rwmj 11y ago
No. I think the phrase is "up and down like a whore's drawers": http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/Repo.asp http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/Repo.asp Presumably plenty of scope to make money in (eg) forex if you know about interest rate movements a few days in advance.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago
  I agree that there's plenty of scope to make money there, but I don't understand at all the reported hysteria about "this is a threat to the economy of England". No it isn't.
branchless 11y ago
Yes good point, there would have been more advantage in knowing it back then. It still makes little sense as an article and the idea that there is low tolerance of financial crime in the UK is laughable.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  >>The source said: “Leaking monetary policy stuff would have been, and still is, a hanging offence,” and an immediate internal inquiry was launched. But it failed to identify where the leak was coming from, so no action was taken and the case was closed. Well, they would have hung him if they could've found him! So said the anonymous source. Since the quote comes from an official at the bank, and not the authorities, I guess it's a euphemism for firing?
  - branchless 11y ago
    No it's probably another silly UK law that is left over from years ago.

hadeharian 11y ago

Yes...the title is mislabeled. It should be something more like "How a criminal got together with friends at BoE".