Key takeaways:

• On 1 April 2013, the new criminal offence of taking misleading actions in connection with financial benchmarks, including Libor, came into effect in the UK as well as amendments to offences relating to misleading statements and misleading practices.
• The UK’s financial regulatory rulebook has also been amended to give the UK’s financial regulator supervisory powers over activities connected with the administration and submission of benchmark information.
• These measures are the UK’s legislative and regulatory response to the so-called “Libor Scandal”.