Flawed white collar justice: Fraud Office must act faster to bring prosecutions, says ALEX BRUMMER
Hayes was involved in the manipulation of trades in the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate used in billions of transactions across the globe.
In the search for justice, when the scandal erupted in 2012, Hayes became the poster person for City wrongdoing.
He received a 14-year sentence after a jury trial (he served five-and-a-half years).
The Supreme Court reversal of the verdict, wildly celebrated by Hayes, was less about market abuse and more about over-zealous directions of the judge to the jury at the trial.
It has become fashionable to suggest that because many traders indulged in similar efforts to fix market outcomes, that what Hayes did was ordinary rather than exceptional.
Cheating should never be acceptable. Market participants on the other side of the transaction will have lost out because of a lack of honesty and transparency.
The context of Hayes' conviction and sentencing must be understood. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) needed victories, having failed to bring anyone to justice during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.
Taxpayer anger was running high and Hayes, by his own confession, was an easy target. Nothing could be pinned on more senior executives.
But in one of his best moments, the then Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, summoned Barclays grandees to Threadneedle Street and demanded the head of chief executive Bob Diamond.
For as long as I can remember reviews into the judiciary have made the case against jury trials for fraud. It is argued that City malfeasance is too complex for ordinary mortals and some kind of tribunal system should be established.
This was first recommended by the Roskill Report in the 1980s, repeated by Lord Justice Auld in 2001 and endorsed again by Lord Leveson this month. All wanted to substitute financial experts sitting with a judge.
The target should not be the jury system. The real villains are overpaid City law firms and barristers who shut witnesses down by claiming 'privilege', long delays for white-collar cases and efforts to drown jurors in thousands of pages of incomprehensible testimony.
The SFO takes far too long to investigate and bring prosecutions, overcomplicates, and then claims the law is not fit for purpose.
Contrast Britain's sclerotic justice with that in the US where bitcoin rascal Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX was indicted, tried and sentenced in just over a year. It was ever thus.
Instead of cheering Hayes' triumph, we should bemoan the fact that the route to financial justice is so deeply flawed.
Wrong boot
Rachel Reeves' purpose in seeking to remove the 'boot on the neck' of business by slashing red tape is to gee-up investment in British innovation.
One fears that taxes already imposed on wealth, abolition of non-domicile status, higher capital gains and inheritance tax levies already are driving the companies we want in Britain to cash out and scram.
Latest is fintech-forex group Alpha, which is accepting a £1.8billion bid from US competitor Corpay. The 55 per cent premium based on the share price in May appears generous.
It is less convincing when one considers the infamous 'London discount' to New York. Some recent tech bids achieved a whopping 96 per cent upside.
One might have hoped that chairman Jayne-Anne Gadhia, of Virgin Money fame, and Clive Kahn, chief executive of Travelex in its glory days, might have shown more resistance.
Pressure, however, to take the money and run is overwhelming.
Sinking sun
In the 1980s and 1990s the rising economic power of Japan and its investment in the US were seen as an enormous threat to US hegemony, as portrayed in Michael Crichton's novel 'Rising Sun' and subsequent movie.
In Trump's America it is very different. The price for lowering car tariffs is that Japan spends £405billion on inward investment in the US. How the world turns!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Crooked civil servants stole £1.7million in benefits meant for pensioners, carers and disability claimants last year
CROOKED civil servants stole £1.7million in benefits meant for pensioners, carers and disability claimants last year. Department for Work and Pensions staff took the cash by fraud, its annual report reveals. There were 25 investigations into employee theft in the 2024-25 tax year, with proven losses of £1,713,809.18. A further 22 investigations into salary and expenses fraud revealed losses of £43,886.76. And the total amount overpaid through either fraud or error was a staggering £9.5billion. The findings will come as a blow to Sir Keir Starmer, who has pledged to clamp down on benefits fraud and reduce the spiralling welfare bill. Dennis Reed, of OAP charity Silver Voices, said: 'This is an outrageous betrayal of public trust.' A DWP spokesman said: 'We take fraud extremely seriously. "When there is evidence of wrongdoing, an employee is subject to disciplinary action and dismissal." Shameless moment crook counts £30k in cash he swindled from vulnerable pensioners 1
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
I know my TV career's over & I fear for my financial future, says wallowing Gregg Wallace as he moans about BBC sacking
SHAMED Gregg Wallace has vowed never to watch MasterChef again following his sacking. Asked if he will tune in to the latest series which he co-presented, he said: 'No, no, no, no.' 5 5 The 60-year-old — fired this month after an investigation into his behaviour — added: 'I'm hurt. I don't want anything to do with telly. I don't want anything to do with the BBC.' The BBC confirmed it will air the series with Wallace and co-host John Torode, who was also sacked. Defiant Wallace has hit back at the damning legal investigation into his behaviour — claiming HE was groped during his time on MasterChef. The furious 60-year-old ex-presenter, fired this month, also believes he was accused of wrongdoing by women with an 'agenda' against him. In a hard-hitting interview, he acknowledges he will never appear on TV again - and says he will not watch the new series of the show in which he features alongside axed co-host John Torode. He says: 'The whole complaints procedure needs to be readdressed - there are huge problems with it as things stand. 'Being on MasterChef was brilliant but I had so many bad experiences on that show too. 'Had I wanted to raise any complaints, I'd have had the decency to speak to that person directly. Privately, not publicly. 'My God, can you imagine the complaints I could have made? Have you got any idea of the sexual references made to me on a daily basis? 'How many times I've been touched by women wanting a selfie? How many times I've been groped? How many times suggestive comments have been made to me? How many female contestants have said inappropriate things on MasterChef? Shamed Gregg Wallace says 'I'm no groper, sex pest or flasher,' as tearful star refuses to accept blame for BBC sacking 'It wouldn't even cross my mind though. Now, I'm not suggesting that groping is right, but it was happening to me on a regular basis. It was just extraordinary. 'This is what I mean about the idea that presenters are god-like and they're just throwing their weight around and bullying people. 'The amount of times when I was desperately trying to build a career in television that I've been shouted at and bullied. I don't know what the answer is, and I understand the need for anonymity, but I wouldn't wish anyone to be dragged through what I have.' While he recognises that genuine whistleblowers must be protected, he firmly believes some women were 'weaponising' their dislike of him. He is, it is clear, a very angry man - and certainly a bruised one. He told The Sun yesterday that he was not a 'groper, a sex pest or a flasher'. He also backed Torode, who had an allegation of racism upheld against him during the probe into Wallace's behaviour. Wallace told The Sun: 'He is not a racist.' He confirms he is contemplating suing the BBC — after taking on attack-dog lawyer Dan Morrison — for what he believes is their 'unfair' treatment of him. Under the 2010 Equalities Act, employers are duty-bound to protect those with disabilities - which includes autism, a condition he was formally diagnosed with in January. He sighs: 'Honestly I don't know if I will go through with it right now though. I feel utterly battered and bruised, and right now just want to hide behind my sofa drinking Horlicks. 'Perhaps when the dust has settled but it's too early to say what I will do next.' Last week the BBC and MasterChef production company Banijay confirmed they will be airing the series which he and Torode filmed last year. Will Wallace be watching? 5 5 5 He rages: 'No, no, no, no. I'm hurt. I don't want anything to do with telly. I don't want anything to do with the BBC. I really don't care. I'm just really pleased for the contestants because MasterChef, really, is all about them - it was never about John and I. 'Whoever hosts it next, and I really don't care who it is, the show will be absolutely fine.' Speaking from his sprawling country home in rural Kent, Wallace admits he is worried about his financial future. He adds: 'But, for a long time, I earned a lot of money and I was careful with it. I am not expecting sympathy from anyone but obviously I have a family, and of course I do worry.' He accepts his TV career is over, and has just qualified as a personal trainer helping men over 50 get fit. He charges £50 a week for his 20 clients, giving them a one-hour, face-to-face online session plus a full nutrition and exercise plan. It is a far cry from his reported £400,000-a-year salary on MasterChef. But, he insists, it brings him happiness. Today, the gym is a respite for him. In 2022 the former greengrocer was awarded an MBE for services to food and charity. But in the wake of the report against him - undertaken by law firm Lewis Silkin with 45 out of 83 allegations upheld - he fears being stripped of the title. He muses: 'What will my legacy be now? I don't want it to be telly, I want nothing to do with it all. I have worried about losing my MBE but there's not a lot I can do about it. But I haven't done anything illegal and hopefully now more and more people will realise that I haven't been exposing myself, and I haven't been groping people either. 'So now I want to start campaigning - raising more awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace. 'I think perceptions may slowly change and all I want is people to ask questions of people whose behaviour they find odd - even people that might look like a football hooligan to you. 'You can't decide which groups of people or which disabilities you will support or won't support in the workplace. You either embrace it all or you don't. 'For example, the BBC should have spotted my autism sooner and sent me off to Occupational Health rather than letting all these complaints to build up against me, with nobody saying anything until the floodgates opened and it all came out. I feel very angry about that.' Wallace is so angry with the BBC that when they asked him repeatedly for an interview he declined. Anger, of course, is something many, many women felt towards Wallace in the wake of his arrogantly foolish comments on Instagram last year in which he said he was accused by 'middle-class women of a certain age'. It is, he acknowledges ruefully, a phrase that will haunt him forever. No, no, no, why did I look like an a**hole? He was asking me to do something, and he got my name wrong. Did I say anywhere that I wouldn't help him? Gregg Wallace After spending two hours with Wallace, it seems evident he is on the spectrum. Frankly, how it took until the age of 60 for him to be diagnosed is baffling. One incident that has unquestionably marked him came in 2012 when a fan tweeted the presenter to ask for help raising awareness of a charity bike ride. Nick Holder posted: 'Hi Greg, I am cycling just over 180 miles in 2 days for Macmillan Cancer Support. Any chance of an RT?' Instead of supporting Nick's endeavours, Gregg, with two Gs, simply responded 'Gregg?' Cuttingly - and quite rightly - Nick replied: 'No worries mate, it's only people with cancer. You worry about your extra G. Mastert**t.' The exchange quickly went viral, with Wallace mercilessly ridiculed. Does he not realise, I ask, that he came across as, well, an utter a**hole? (A question not many people would take well.) Nope, Gregg is still bemused and frustrated by the incident. He asks: 'No, no, no, why did I look like an a**hole? He was asking me to do something, and he got my name wrong. Did I say anywhere that I wouldn't help him? 'So why didn't he just go, 'Oh, OK mate, sorry I got that wrong. Would you help me?' 'And if that would have been the narrative, then fine, but instead he said, 'Oh, don't worry, it's only people dying of cancer, you get your name right, w***er'. 'If only he'd just said, 'Oh, sorry, mate, G-R-E-G-G, could you help me?' Then of course I would have done so, that's what I wanted to do, but people don't know that. I have done so much for charities over the years, I have always done so.' When I ask him if such pedantry is his autism at play, he bizarrely doubles down and insists I would not understand because people have not been spelling my name wrong for years. 'Banter' no excuse for behaviour By Penny East WHEN 'inappropriate sexual language' and 'unwelcome physical contact' take place at work, we must surely call it out as sexual harassment. Gregg Wallace's attempts to minimise his actions are unhelpful — he still fails to recognise the harm caused. There are too many excuses. Too many attempts to shift the blame. Wallace is a household name and with that comes power. Too often men defend this kind of behaviour as 'banter'. But it is nothing of the sort. Wallace held the power and he chose to take advantage of that over many years. Particularly over people who 'felt too intimidated or nervous to say anything at the time'. I point out that, as a 'Clemmie', I spent my childhood years regularly being called 'Clammy', and joyfully, 'Chlamydia'. And that, no, it would not have irked me one iota. He snaps back: 'Congratulations, well done you — you're obviously not autistic.' Had I not spent the morning with the man - and, crucially, his lovely family - I might have been pretty horrified by that. As it is, I realise he genuinely sees things incredibly black and white. Quite literally there is no filter with Wallace. When he feels an injustice, he says it. Certainly you see a different side to the man - who can only go out in a disguise now, so afraid of public perception is he - when you see him interacting with his family. His incredibly loyal wife Anna, who makes me a coffee, is lovely and his six-year-old non-verbal autistic son Sid is an utter delight. Anna has been my rock - we had some really tough conversations when it was all kicking off but I promised her I have never, ever cheated Gregg Wallace Two French bulldogs, Wally and Bella, tear around the house, while his delightful mother-in-law Rina potters around in the kitchen. Indeed, such is his autism, he makes diary reminders in his phone nudging him to be romantic. He says: 'Anna told me once she wanted spontaneous hugs from me so that's what I do now… so the hugs might not be spontaneous for me, but they are for her.' He credits his family for keeping him around. Without them, he admits tearfully, he might have taken his own life during a particularly bleak spell last Christmas. He reflects: 'But then I realised that would be selfish on them, and totally unfair. Anna has been my rock - we had some really tough conversations when it was all kicking off but I promised her I have never, ever cheated. 'She knows I have not looked at another woman since the moment I laid eyes on her. 'But seeing how tough this been on them - my mum, who died earlier this year, called me one day to ask why the Prime Minister was talking about me on telly - has been heartbreaking. 'Wokeism and cancel culture is terrifying - I just hope no one else ever has to go through anything like this.'
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
The two party system is obliterated, welcome to Balkans Britain
IF Labour and the Tories were High Street jewellers, then they would both be Ratner's. Their brands are tainted, their names are mud, their future uncertain. 7 7 For a century Labour and the Tories were the Tiffany and Cartier of our proud old democracy. Then they both did a Ratner. The Tories took 14 years to deeply disappoint the British people. Labour has managed to make the nation despair in closer to 14 months. And their good old days of swapping power every few years are over. Welcome to Balkan s Britain. Balkan-isation refers to the process where a state irrevocably shatters into many smaller states. That is exactly what is happening right now to traditional British politics. The two-party system is obliterated, and there are bits and pieces all over the carpet. The disintegration of our body politic reached new heights this week with the resurrection of Jeremy Corbyn and the launch of his new leftier- than-thou party — provisionally named 'Your Party' (not mine, never mine). Now Labour can't chuckle about the Tories warily looking over their right shoulder at Reform. Inside UK's 1st Reform pub with £2 pints, boozers drinking 'Remainer tears' & even Corbyn's allowed in, on one condition Because Labour are looking over their left shoulder at Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party. And everybody has to fear losing support to the Greens, Lib Dems and Monster Raving Loony Party. And will the fragmentation of our old two-party system be good for our country? Will Reform's right-wing firebrands draining support from the Tories and Corbyn's full-fat comrades nicking support from Labour make us a healthier, happier country? Fingers crossed, eh? But those of us who care about our country far more than we do, any political party should not dance too gleefully on the freshly dug grave of the two-party system. Because effective government ALWAYS comes from a broad church of opinions. Tony Blair's New Labour had room in its ranks for both Peter Mandelson and Dennis 'Beast of Bolsover' Skinner — slinky capitalist and old-school socialist. Maggie Thatcher had room in her Cabinet for both Michael Heseltine and Norman Tebbit — fanatical pro-European and unapologetic patriot. It is impossible to imagine either of the two big parties being quite so broadminded these days. Corbyn and Farage have this in common — they are both profoundly anti-establishment. Yet one of them could wield power after the next General Election, even if it is lording over some fractious coalition. Then Nigel might find that shipping hardcore criminals to El Salvador is easier said than done. And Jeremy might discover that ranting about the wickedness of the filthy rich does absolutely nothing for the British economy. And when the old two-party system is buried forever, you and I may even start to miss it. Romance in air? Liam's just being hammy with Pammy LIAM NEESON and Pamela Anderson are promoting their reboot of The Naked Gun – and old romantics are suggesting there may be a spark of real-life romance between this lovely couple. Liam, 73, confessed in a recent interview that he was 'madly in love' with the former Baywatch babe, 58. A confession that makes me believe there is absolutely no late-life love story going on between them. USYK'S GOT BIT OF ALI I REMEMBER my mum and dad had mixed feelings when Henry Cooper fought Muhammad Ali for the second time. Naturally my folks wanted the local lad – our Henry – to win. 7 But there was a big part of their hearts that always belonged to Muhammad Ali. And so it is with Oleksandr Usyk, who knocked out Daniel Dubois last weekend to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Even if you want the Brit to win, you can't help but admire their opponent. Because both Ali and Usyk fought for a higher cause than their own career. Muhammad Ali fought racism. Oleksandr Usyk is the living embodiment of Ukraine's defiance in the face of Russia's murderous invasion. Usyk has now beaten the cream of British boxing – Daniel Dubois (twice), Tyson Fury (twice), Anthony Joshua (twice), Derek Chisora and Tony Bellew. Muhammad Ali beat Henry Cooper (twice), Joe Bugner (twice), Brian London and Richard Dunn. But Ali was always loved in this country. As so is Usyk. 'UK is my second home,' says Usyk. 'I love UK.' The feeling is mutual, champ. Glory to Ukraine. ORVILLE the Duck is being branded a 'nappy-wearing perv' after revelations about inappropriate behaviour. TV's Mel and Sue revealed that they were co-hosting Channel 4's Light Lunch in 1997 when ventriloquist Keith Harris (and Orville) became as over-familiar with Mel as Rod Hull (and Emu) got with Michael Parkinson 20 years earlier. 7 'Keith Harris got a bit naughty with Sue!' Mel revealed. 'Well, Orville did! Yes, Orville got a bit naughty Nineties.' I believe Keith Harris, who died in 2015, should carry the can. He was the one with his hand up the green duck's Wembley Way. Look at those eyes. Orville is innocent. TELL IT LIKE IT KISS 'RIGHT then, do we have any lovebirds in the house?' asked Liam Gallagher on stage in Manchester. 'Don't worry, we ain't got none of that snidey Coldplay f***ing camera s**t. Doesn't matter to us who you're mingling with or tingling with – none of our f***ing business.' 7 Beautifully put, Liam. Our kid is right to be outraged at the use of kiss cams at concerts. After the Coldplay farrago, it is worth recalling that the kiss cam only began life in California in the Eighties, taking advantage of new-fangled giant video screens at sporting events. The kiss cam was introduced as a way to stop crowds nodding off at baseball and American football games. As Liam points out, it is weird that the kiss cam should become a feature of concerts. There is nothing even remotely rock and roll about it. But of course that's also true of Coldplay. BOB DYLAN – 84! – returns to the UK in November, and once again no phones will be allowed at his shows. That must feel weird for anyone below the age of about 30. To the rest of us, a phone-free night watching Dylan feels gloriously liberating. COP SHOP ROT 'E-SCOOTERS can be a great way to get around,' says a government spokesman. This is especially true if you want to steal somebody's phone, a crime now so widespread that last year £50million worth of phones were snatched in London alone. Most of those phones are never recovered. Just as most burglaries – almost 82 per cent – are never solved. Just as most shoplifters – now three thefts a minute! – never get a slap on the wrist. Nigel Farage is right – this country feels increasingly lawless. But there was one thing Farage neglected to mention in his bid to make Reform the party of law and order. Two-thirds of police stations in England have closed since 2010. This is where the rot begins. This is where our rising crime rates took root. When police stations went the same way as Woolworths.
