Interest rate ‘rigging’ evidence ‘covered up’ by banks

UK and US regulators were told of a state-led drive to “rig” interest rates in the 2008 financial crisis, but covered it up, evidence indicates.

Documents suggest lenders sharply dropped their interest-rate estimates after pressure from central banks.

Evidence was not shown to juries at the time when bankers were jailed for smaller-scale interest-rate “rigging”.

Regulators said they had followed disclosure rules, declined to comment or in one case rebutted the claims.