Britain Begin Prosecuting Bankers Involved In 2008 Crash

A group of top bankers in Britain are to go on trial in London as authorities begin the process of arresting and prosecuting those responsible for the 2008 financial crash. 

A group of HBOS bankers are the first to go on trial charged with fraudulent trading, money laundering, and conspiracy to corrupt. Southwark Crown Court will host the historic trial , which is expected to open the floodgates for similar cases in the months ahead.

Presstv.com reports:

Two former senior HBOS managers and six other defendants will appear in court this month.

The heavily postponed trial was originally scheduled to start in the beginning of the year. The defendants were initially charged in 2013.

Those charged also include bankers David Mills and Michael Bancroft, as well as their wives, who are accused of giving money and “numerous high-value gifts” to HBOS managers in exchange for favors.

The alleged scam was exposed by Thames Valley Police after a two year investigation code-named Operation Hornet.

HBOS collapsed in 2008 and was bought by UK-backed Lloyds TSB. Its one-time head of corporate lending, Peter Cummings, was fined £500,000 and was banned from the banking industry.

The British government bailed out Lloyds at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 at a cost of some £20 billion, handing the state a 43-percent stake in the bank.