Competition Law and Financial Crime

Diana Johnson is Solicitor and Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her research is on financial crime and competition law, with a particular focus on corporate criminal liability, deferred prosecution agreements, fraud and money laundering. Diana has written several publications on these topics and has submitted evidence to policymakers and influential organisations including the Law Commission, the FCA and the Treasury. Diana is a Board Member for the South West Fraud Forum and has experience of contributing to an Innovate UK funded project, which examines the submission of suspicious activity reports to the National Crime Agency for the regulated sectors.

"In this book Dr Johnson makes the case that competition law should be used to enforce banking cartels by comparing the actions taken in the UK, EU and US following the LIBOR and FX benchmark manipulation crises. Concise and engaging, and tackling a fascinating and timely issue, it is a must-read for readers interested in market manipulation and competition law."Dan Joyner, Elton B. Stephens Professor of Law, University of Alabama School of Law"Dr Johnson's monograph delves into the intricate world of benchmark interest rate manipulation by competing banks. By meticulously comparing enforcement approaches across the UK, EU, and US through the lens of competition law, the book provides valuable insights for policymakers, regulators, and academics."Professor Richard Whish, Kings College London"This is a must read for anyone interested in financial crimes and market law. The book offers an excellent overview and in-depth analysis of the UK, EU and the US regulatory regimes for fighting market manipulation. For those interested in the EU financial crimes framework, the book will be particularly interesting to read because of the intriguing chapters on the tangled relationship between the EU’s anti market abuse measures and that of competition law enforcement, which is scrutinized in the book. I very much recommend this book."Professor Ester Herlin-Karnell, University of Gothenburg"Diana Johnson has produced a well-researched and extremely readable monograph on the intersection between financial crime and competition law. It examines the banking cartels seen in the LIBOR and FX manipulation crises through the lens of competition law. Dr Johnson compares the enforcement approaches taken by the UK, the EU and the US, concluding that competition law should be applied to future banking cartels and providing recommendations for future legislative and policy reform."Professor Peter Whelan, University of Leeds"The monograph takes an innovative approach to a key topic in white-collar crime. The book investigates the benchmark market manipulation hypothesis from a competition law standpoint. By examining LIBOR and FX cases across three different jurisdictions (the UK, the United States, and Europe), it provides insightful conclusions not only on the UK legal system, but also on the global dimension of the matter."Enrico Basile, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and White-Collar Crime, Università “Luigi Bocconi”, Milano, Italy"This book provides a comprehensive analysis of some of the different international responses that have emerged to tackle market manipulation. For anyone interested in this area this book provides essential reading on what can be done to better counter market manipulation and related problems and they will learn a great deal from it."Professor Mark Button, University of Portsmouth"This is a go-to book for understanding how competition law can be effectively used to tackle benchmark manipulation. Dr Johnson uses an in-depth comparative analysis of responses to the LIBOR and FX benchmark manipulation scandal in the United Kingdom, European Union and United States, providing fascinating insights into an area that is under-researched."Associate Professor Branislav Hock, University of Portsmouth"This monograph is particularly useful to those researching or working in enforcement of financial crime, because Dr Johnson has identified a gap in the literature of benchmark manipulation. She argues for the UK regulators using its full range of enforcement powers, especially competition law, to enforce benchmark manipulation. Her monograph is thought-provoking and adds to the scholarship of financial regulation."Dr Alison Lui, Reader in Corporate and Financial Law, Associate Dean Global Engagement at Liverpool John Moores University

• 1. Introduction; 2. Background to the LIBOR and FX Benchmark Manipulation Crisis; 3. UK Competition Law and Financial Crime; 4. EU Competition Law and Financial Crime; 5. US Competition Law and Financial Crime; 6. UK, EU and US comparison; 7. Conclusion and Recommendations