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Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by branchless on Monday August 31, 2015 @02:22PM (#10148236)
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?

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by hadeharian on Monday August 31, 2015 @05:28PM (#10149213)
Yes...the title is mislabeled. It should be something more like "How a criminal got together with friends at BoE".
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by mabbo on Monday August 31, 2015 @02:35PM (#10148294)
Were interest rates that stable 16 years ago?
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by rwmj on Monday August 31, 2015 @03:05PM (#10148455)
No. I think the phrase is "up and down like a whore's drawers":

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.

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by thaumasiotes on Monday August 31, 2015 @04:00PM (#10148746)
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.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by branchless on Monday August 31, 2015 @03:17PM (#10148520)
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.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by fnordfnordfnord on Monday August 31, 2015 @03:29PM (#10148576)
>>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?

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by branchless on Monday August 31, 2015 @08:08PM (#10149896)
No it's probably another silly UK law that is left over from years ago.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by rwmj on Monday August 31, 2015 @01:57PM (#10148124)
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.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by PeterWhittaker on Monday August 31, 2015 @02:09PM (#10148167)
If true, an excellent example of why we need better oversight into government operations and into information classification.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by bayesianhorse on Monday August 31, 2015 @03:00PM (#10148427)
You (GB) need a better government. Or a better voting system and a constitution, while you are at it.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by PeterWhittaker on Monday August 31, 2015 @04:34PM (#10148938)
Me? Not GB, CA.

But the point applies, cf C-51.

My statement is true for all democracies, IMHO.

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by bayesianhorse on Tuesday September 01, 2015 @06:42AM (#10151610)
Sorry I was misinterpreting. And maybe my statements are a bit harsh. But especially the last election didn't sit right with me.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by yarrel on Monday August 31, 2015 @04:10PM (#10148791)
Regime change. Great idea.

(Looks at examples.)

Maybe not.

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by bayesianhorse on Tuesday September 01, 2015 @07:14AM (#10151674)
Changing a government or even changing the voting system is quite possible without any violence...
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by ionised on Wednesday September 02, 2015 @05:41AM (#10158220)
Not while the majority of the population is completely disinterested in any kind of politics other than fear-mongering by demagogues it's not.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by hackuser on Monday August 31, 2015 @06:18PM (#10149445)
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'.

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by cypher_glyph on Tuesday September 01, 2015 @09:09AM (#10152041)
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.
Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by keithpeter on Monday August 31, 2015 @02:30PM (#10148270)
"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.

Re:How a Criminal Network Infiltrated the Bank of England by kelvin0 on Monday August 31, 2015 @03:03PM (#10148450)
Banks used to launder money? Shocking :-)