Plea bargains to help FSA net fraudsters

City fraudsters will be offered US-style plea bargains to help bring major offenders to justice from this autumn. Britain’s financial services watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, is taking the step in the wake of its failure to prevent the banking crisis. Whistleblowers would be granted immunity from prosecution, either by the FSA or the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, if they testify against ringleaders guilty of crimes, such as insider dealing. The FSA is also negotiating further powers to help it prosecute more aggressively amid concerns that collapsing financial markets are often associated with increased fraud. The FSA’s chief executive, Hector Sants, outlined the tougher…

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