Global investigations surrounding the London Interbank Offered Rate (commonly known as LIBOR) have made headlines in recent months. Frequent news stories report that government agencies in multiple countries are cooperating with each other, including the U.S. Department of Justice (Fraud Section and Antitrust Division) (collectively, DOJ), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA), the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, and the Canadian Competition Bureau, among others.
Under U.K. regulations, the FSA, which is the lead agency investigating LIBOR in the United Kingdom, has the power to compel testimony from witnesses at the request of foreign regulators. Although compelled testimony cannot be used in the United Kingdom to criminally prosecute compelled witnesses, there is very little guidance about whether (and to what extent) foreign prosecutorial and regulatory agencies, including the DOJ, can use such testimony in evidentiary proceedings. That issue is critical in any parallel investigation involving the FSA and U.S. regulators.
