Introduction

Andy Verity, Economics Correspondent for BBC News, joins Forward Guidance to discuss revelations from his new book, “Rigged: The Incredible True Story Of The Whistleblowers Jailed After Exposing The Rotten Heart Of The Financial System.” Verity argues that the traders who were convicted of rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) are mere scapegoats, and that the real “rigging” was on a scale much larger and was encouraged by central bankers and bank CEOs. This interview features four recordings with former Barclays employee Peter Johnson, which show Johnson raising the alarm bell that nearly every bank was vastly underreporting their true cost of borrowing in the London Eurodollar market. Despite this, Johnson was later accused and convicted of conspiracy to defraud. These recordings are only a tiny fraction of the enormous amount of evidence Verity has collected, which can be found in his book as well as online in several links which will be shared below. Filmed on January 5, 2024.

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Follow Andy Verity on Twitter https://twitter.com/andyverity

Andy Verity’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Rigged-Incredible-Whistleblowers-Exposing-Financial/dp/0750998857

Rigged, You Be The Judge: https://andyverity.substack.com/p/rigged-you-be-the-judge-7ad?r=x2o5p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Andy's NEW Post (January 16, 2024), What the FBI + Gary Gensler's CFTC knew about interest rate manipulation ordered from the top - but didn't tell Congress or the public": https://andyverity.substack.com/p/what-the-fbi-gary-genslers-cftc-knew?r=x2o5p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Andy Verity’s recordings on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/andy-verity-74636470

The Lowball Tapes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014wtn

BBC News Panorama Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUX1WJwivQ&t=96s

Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://twitter.com/JackFarley96

Follow Forward Guidance on Twitter https://twitter.com/ForwardGuidance

Follow Blockworks on Twitter https://twitter.com/Blockworks_

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:37) What is LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate)?

(10:09) The Price Of No Apples

(12:07) The Evidence (Taped Phone Calls)

(23:22) Traders' Requests Were Punished Whereas "Lowballing" Was Not

(37:08) Higher-ups' Involvement: Bank of England, BBA, Federal Reserve, U.K. Government

(41:28) Gary Gensler's Role In Alleged Cover-Up

(45:30) Peter Johnson, One Of The Very Few Who Cared That LIBOR Was Fraudulent, Was Sent To Jail

(52:11) Lowballing Never Came To Court

(55:03) The Fall of LIBOR, The Rise of SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate)

(01:01:19) The LIBOR Trials In The Wake Of The Great Financial Crisis

(01:17:59) Where The LIBOR Case Stands In 2024

(01:26:15) The Future of Eurodollars And London In A LIBOR-Less World

(01:29:25) Concluding Thoughts

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Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Forward Guidance should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.