The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced it has banned Lee Stewart, an ex-trader at Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) from the UK financial services industry, citing his lack of honesty and integrity.
The decision of the UK regulator comes after a criminal conviction for Lee Stewart on fraud charges in the US. In March 2015, he pleaded guilty in the US for his role in a conspiracy to rig Rabobank’s US Dollar LIBOR submissions.
This action follows a recent ban of Paul Robson, another trader at Rabobank.
To date the FCA has issued 14 warning notices related to interest rate benchmarks, and keeps up wider investigations into individuals’ conduct in relation to LIBOR misconduct. A total of £653.6 million ($1.02 billion) in fines has been imposed by the UK regulator on firms for misconduct relating to LIBOR.
Georgina Philippou, acting director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:
“Mr Stewart was an experienced trader at Rabobank who, through his guilty plea, has admitted to participating in a criminal conspiracy to manipulate Libor over a prolonged period of time. His behaviour was inexcusable and very serious. This ban further reinforces our expectation that individuals and firms take responsibility for ensuring market integrity and reminds them of the consequences if they fall short of our standards.”
Today’s ban comes ahead of Stewart’s US sentencing scheduled for 2017.
To view the announcement by the FCA, click here.