Libor: Two ex-Rabobank traders charged in US suit

Two ex-Rabobank traders have been charged by the US Department of Justice with manipulating the Libor rate.

The two are Anthony Allen, 43, of Hertfordshire, England and Anthony Conti, 45, of Essex, England.

They were charged by US authorities with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in an effort to manipulate Libor for Rabobank's financial gain.

That brings the total number of indicted Rabobank employees to six.

An earlier indictment had previously named traders Tetsuya Motomura, 42, of Tokyo, Japan and Paul Thompson, 48, of Dalkeith, Australia, as well as Paul Robson, a former Rabobank Libor submitter.

"[Libor] is a key benchmark interest rate that is relied upon to be free of bias and self-dealing, but the conduct of these traders was as galling as it was greedy," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell in a statement.

Last year, Dutch lender Rabobank paid fines to US, British and Dutch regulators over allegations of Libor manipulation of €774m (£616m).