July 22 (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors and European regulators
are close to arresting individual traders and charging them with
colluding to manipulate global benchmark interest rates,
according to people familiar with a sweeping investigation into
the rigging scandal.

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have recently
contacted lawyers representing some of the suspects to notify
them that criminal charges and arrests could be imminent, said
two of those sources, who asked not to be identified because the
investigation is ongoing.

By Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan and Philipp Halstrick

(Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors and European regulators are close to arresting individual traders and charging them with colluding to manipulate global benchmark interest rates, according to people familiar with a sweeping investigation into the rate-rigging scandal.

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have recently contacted lawyers representing some of the individuals under suspicion to notify them that criminal charges and arrests could be imminent, said two of those sources who asked not to be identified because the investigation is ongoing.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) executive Donald Mullen, one of the architects of the subprime mortgage trade, is trying to raise at least $500 million for a fund that will buy foreclosed homes with an eye toward renting them out.

Mullen, who until January was head of the credit and mortgage business inside Goldman’s securities division, began marketing his Fundamental REO Access fund in earnest about a month ago, said seven people familiar with the matter, but who did not want to be identified because they do not work for the upstart fund.

NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) – Former Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) executive Donald Mullen, one of the architects of
the subprime mortgage trade, is trying to raise at least $500
million for a fund that will buy foreclosed homes with an eye
toward renting them out.

Mullen, who until January was head of the credit and
mortgage business inside Goldman’s securities division, began
marketing his Fundamental REO Access fund in earnest about a
month ago, said seven people familiar with the matter, but who
did not want to be identified because they do not work for the
upstart fund.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – In a matter of days, the two-month-old criminal investigation into a $5.8 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. — known as the “London Whale” blunder — was transformed from dormant to potentially explosive.

Last Thursday, the day before JPMorgan reported its highly anticipated second-quarter earnings, the bank informed U.S. authorities that an internal investigation had found evidence that three London traders may have tried to hide the losses in some of their positions, said people familiar with the matter.

By Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan

(Reuters) – Officials in California’s San Bernardino County began talking with a private investor group about a controversial proposal to condemn distressed mortgages back in January, some five months before the investor group’s involvement became public, county records show.

And after an initial telephone conference call on January 31, the investor group, Mortgage Resolution Partners, and the county signed an agreement to keep their communications secret, according to a copy of the February 9 agreement.