Barclays
© Reuters
The U.K. intends to take severe action against the illegal manipulation of market interest rates, German daily Handelsblatt reports Tuesday, citing an interview with Mark Hoban, the financial secretary to the Treasury. He said anyone who falsifies market indexes should land in jail, the newspaper reported.

Mr. Hoban also called for investigators to have access to bankers' telephone, email, Facebook and Twitter accounts, in order to hunt down criminal actions, the newspaper said. The U.K. is looking to implement related laws by the year's end, the newspaper said. Hoban said 10 to 14 banks are involved in the Libor manipulation scandal, Handelsblatt reported. He said the alleged involvement of Barclays PLC (BCS, BCS.LN) triggered the investigation, which has since revealed that banks in other EU states, in Japan and in the U.S. are allegedly involved, Handelsblatt reported.