

How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England - sergeant3
http://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelgillard/sex-lies-and-interest-rates

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branchless
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?

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mabbo
Were interest rates that stable 16 years ago?

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rwmj
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.

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thaumasiotes
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.

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rwmj
Interestingly the only "news" outlets covering this are Buzzfeed, Russia
Today, and David "lizards-run-the-world" Icke. I guess the court order /
D-notice must be pretty draconian.

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PeterWhittaker
If true, an excellent example of why we need better oversight into government
operations and into information classification.

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bayesianhorse
You (GB) need a better government. Or a better voting system and a
constitution, while you are at it.

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PeterWhittaker
Me? Not GB, CA.

But the point applies, cf C-51.

My statement is true for all democracies, IMHO.

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bayesianhorse
Sorry I was misinterpreting. And maybe my statements are a bit harsh. But
especially the last election didn't sit right with me.

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hackuser
The financial industry's major corruption stories seem to never end. They
undermined the world economy and even LIBOR was fixed. Its participants
portray themselves as champions of the free market and technical geniuses. How
is this the 'free market'? It seems more and more that it's merely theft, and
some are better at it than others.

Yet I read about its particpants complaining they are "demonized", and every
time regulation or oversight is suggested they are outraged and say it will
ruin their hallowed 'free markets'.

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cypher_glyph
They seemed like decent chaps, and decent chaps don't check up on decent chaps
to see if they're behaving decently. Furthermore there's no point: if they're
honest, it's a waste of time - and if they're not honest you don't find out
about it until it's too late anyway.

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keithpeter
_" has been kept tightly under wraps by police chiefs and spies at MI5 for
more than 16 years"_

Probably not using D notice system for information of that age.

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kelvin0
Banks used to launder money? Shocking :-)

