Bank of England suspends employee in forex probe

The Bank of England suspended an employee yesterday amid an investigation into what Bank officials knew about alleged ­rigging of currency rates by forex traders.

It said in a statement that an internal review had so far found no evidence BoE staff colluded in any such manipulation or shared confidential client information.

But it added: “The Bank requires its staff to follow rigorous internal control processes and has suspended a member of staff, pending investigation by the Bank into compliance with those processes.

“The Bank of England does not condone any form of market manipulation in any context. The Bank has reiterated its guidance to staff regarding management of records and escalation of important information.”

It said its oversight committee will investigate whether central bank officials manipulated benchmark foreign exchange fixings or were aware of the potential for such manipulation; and whether they were involved in or aware of sharing confidential client information.

The BoE, the Financial Conduct Authority and US regulators are looking into possible wrongdoing in the $5.3 trillion (£3.2 trillion)-a-day forex market. More than 20 traders have been placed on leave, suspended or fired in recent months.