Where the money is

At last the law gets serious

SCANDALS THAT cost some of the world’s biggest banks— and those who trust them to give the international economy some measure of stability— aren’t going to cease until not just the banks are punished for trying to manipulate the market, but the individual bankers who commit these crimes on the banks’ behalf.

For what do the crooks care so long as the banks have to bear the fines and they can just walk away? Which is why it’s good news when the U. S. Justice Department finally acts against the crooks themselves, not just the banks they work for.

Now two British citizens who worked for the prominent Dutch lender Rabobank— Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti— have finally been convicted of a scheme to fiddle with the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, to benefit their employer— even though both swore they didn’t benefit from the swindle themselves. Then why would they do such a thing?

Because the gains they made for their banks would redound to their benefit. It was Willie Sutton who once explained why he would rob banks: because that’s where the money is. And big crimes attract big crooks, however clever they may think they’re being.

These employees— now former employees— were charged with multiple criminal counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy. They face decades behind bars, though it’s more likely they’ll be let off with much lighter sentences, white- collar crimes being treated with notorious leniency in this country.

But some measure of salutary justice has been achieved, and a good example set. It’s about time.