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BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Four more traders appeal rate-rigging convictions after Supreme Court ruling
Four traders are appealing to have their rate-rigging convictions overturned after the Supreme Court quashed two rate-rigging cases on Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, and Christian Bittar are seeking acquittal following the victory of traders Tom Hayes and Carlo of the traders were convicted of manipulating the interest rates used for loans between banks, know as Libor in the UK, an issue at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis."Following the Supreme Court's landmark decision yesterday to quash the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, all four of our clients now intend to appeal against their convictions," said law firm Hickman & Rose. "In those circumstances, they don't intend to comment further at this time," the firm four convictions came after an investigation from the Serious Fraud Office into whether traders had been manipulating Libor for became the focus of allegations of wrongdoing following the financial crisis in 2008 and has now been discontinued, while its European equivalent Euribor is being the Supreme Court has now ruled in favour of Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo, the four traders' appeal is likely to be a more straightforward process than for Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo who argued their case for Serious Fraud Office declined to comment on the appeal from the four traders on it said on Wednesday in response to the ruling on Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo's case that it had "considered this judgement and the full circumstances carefully and determined it would not be in the public interest for us to seek a retrial".The Libor scandal came to light in 2012, when it was discovered that banks were artificially inflating rates to profit from trading and were also lowering them to mask the troubles they faced following the outbreak of the global financial in 2023, the BBC uncovered evidence of a much larger, state-led "rigging" of interest rates, under pressure from central banks and governments across the world during the financial Hayes and Mr Palombo argued they were wrongly prosecuted for what were normal commercial practices in order to appease public anger towards the banks over the financial crisis.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jailed traders mount bid to quash conviction after Supreme Court ruling
Four traders who were jailed for rate-rigging are to appeal their convictions after the Supreme Court quashed similar charges in a landmark case. Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef and Christian Bittar are all seeking acquittal on appeal, lawyers for the four men said. It follows the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, two former investment bank traders, on charges of rigging Libor and Euribor respectively. The pair were found to have not received a fair trial because of how the jury was directed. The convictions came after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the aftermath of the financial crisis into claims that traders were manipulating key interest rate benchmarks by submitting false information to the market. Overall, the case led to nine convictions for fraud, with two traders pleading guilty and the rest found guilty by juries. Merchant and Mathew were ex-Barclays traders found guilty of conspiracy to defraud in 2016 after a three-month trial at Southwark Crown Court. The judge ruled that the pair had conspired to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, which was once used to price more than £270tn of financial products globally. Mathew was given a four-year sentence, while Merchant was given a six and a half years. Merchant, who was born in India, renounced his British citizenship and was deported in 2018. Moryoussef, also an ex-Barclays trader, and Christian Bittar, who formerly worked for Deutsche Bank, were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud in relation to the euro interbank offered rate, known in the City as Euribor. Moryoussef was sentenced in 2018 to eight years in jail, with the judge saying: 'Greed was clearly his principal motivation. Although his income was more than generous by anyone's standards, he thought he deserved more.' Bittar was sentenced to five years and four months. On Thursday night, a lawyer representing the group said: 'Following the Supreme Court's landmark decision yesterday to quash the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, all four of our clients now intend to appeal against their convictions.' Mr Hayes, who served five and a half years in prison for fraud, said after the Supreme Court ruling that all those jailed on similar charges to his should have their convictions overturned. The SFO, which was contacted for comment, said earlier this week: 'We have considered this judgment and the full circumstances carefully and determined it would not be in the public interest for us to seek a retrial.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Jailed traders mount bid to quash conviction after Supreme Court ruling
Four traders who were jailed for rate-rigging are to appeal their convictions after the Supreme Court quashed similar charges in a landmark case. Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef and Christian Bittar are all seeking acquittal on appeal, lawyers for the four men said. It follows the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, two former investment bank traders, on charges of rigging Libor and Euribor respectively. The pair were found to have not received a fair trial because of how the jury was directed. The convictions came after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the aftermath of the financial crisis into claims that traders were manipulating key interest rate benchmarks by submitting false information to the market. Overall, the case led to nine convictions for fraud, with two traders pleading guilty and the rest found guilty by juries. Merchant and Mathew were ex-Barclays traders found guilty of conspiracy to defraud in 2016 after a three-month trial at Southwark Crown Court. The judge ruled that the pair had conspired to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, which was once used to price more than £270tn of financial products globally. Mathew was given a four-year sentence, while Merchant was given a six and a half years. Merchant, who was born in India, renounced his British citizenship and was deported in 2018. Moryoussef, also an ex-Barclays trader, and Christian Bittar, who formerly worked for Deutsche Bank, were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud in relation to the euro interbank offered rate, known in the City as Euribor. Moryoussef was sentenced in 2018 to eight years in jail, with the judge saying: 'Greed was clearly his principal motivation. Although his income was more than generous by anyone's standards, he thought he deserved more.' Bittar was sentenced to five years and four months. On Thursday night, a lawyer representing the group said: 'Following the Supreme Court's landmark decision yesterday to quash the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, all four of our clients now intend to appeal against their convictions.' Mr Hayes, who served five and a half years in prison for fraud, said after the Supreme Court ruling that all those jailed on similar charges to his should have their convictions overturned. The SFO, which was contacted for comment, said earlier this week: 'We have considered this judgment and the full circumstances carefully and determined it would not be in the public interest for us to seek a retrial.'
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Trader wrongly jailed for rate-rigging may sue for millions
A former Libor trader jailed for rate-rigging is considering suing for compensation after his conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court. Tom Hayes, who served five and a half years in prison for fraud, said he would seek legal advice on bringing civil claims after his 2015 conviction was overturned on Wednesday. Possible targets of legal action could include the banks that employed him before he was arrested. Mr Hayes said: 'Whether I have any civil claims against any parties is yet to be determined. I'm not ruling it out, but I don't have sufficient information yet. I need to take advice. 'I can't at this moment in time know what I'm going to do. All I would say is that everyone in the US who had their convictions overturned, almost to a man, sued their former employer banks and reached settlements.' Karen Todner, Mr Hayes's lawyer, said he was investigating whether to bring a possible claim against various authorities. She said there was a high probability he would launch a claim. Lawyers said Mr Hayes could potentially win millions in compensation from various parties involved in the case, including the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which prosecuted him, and his ex-employers, based on loss of earnings.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tom Hayes Libor Victory Puts Convictions in $10 Billion Scandal at Risk
(Bloomberg) -- It was an era-defining prosecution for the UK's white collar crime agency. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom When star trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of rigging a benchmark interest rate in 2015, it set off a raft of other investigations of bankers and traders across the City of London. For the Serious Fraud Office, desperate to highlight that it could hold bankers to account, these actions marked a high-water point. On top of that, regulators made headlines by wringing global fines of almost $10 billion from a dozen banks and brokerages. Now, Hayes' success in quashing his conviction at the UK Supreme Court has upended it all and hit the SFO's reputation. It also raises questions about other convictions in the scandal. 'This result not only clears Mr. Hayes' and Mr. Palombo's names, but could also lead to convictions secured in,' other trials prosecuted by the SFO being reviewed, said Caroline Greenwell, a partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys. Financial Crisis Hayes, who worked at UBS Group AG, was one of nine individuals convicted by UK authorities for manipulating rates tied to trillions of dollars of loans and securities around the world. With the public still dealing with the repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis – from austerity to job losses and a collapse in property prices – the cases became a high-profile emblem for the banker greed many blamed for what had happened. Ex-Barclays Plc trader Carlo Palombo, who also had his conviction overturned, addressed that very point on Wednesday, saying that the rate-rigging defendants were cast as 'dishonest greedy bankers.' 'We were accused of things that didn't make sense,' he told a press conference. 'We were caught up in this Kafka-esque nightmare.' Hayes' case was by far the most famous in the Libor scandal, but just a year after his trial, three others Barclays, Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant and Alex Pabon, were convicted of similar rigging charges involving the benchmark. Another Barclays banker, Peter Johnson, had pleaded guilty in 2014 as part of the case. A string of further convictions of traders accused of rigging the Euro interbank rate followed. The quashing of the convictions 'raises the very real spectre that all the other convictions relating' to the rate rigging cases 'are also miscarriages of justice,' Robert Newcombe, a criminal barrister, said. Speaking after the ruling, Hayes also pushed the idea that the other bankers involved in the scandal could benefit. 'A guilty plea doesn't mean that they are guilty,' he said. 'All those convictions need to go, including those people that pled guilty off the back of the fact that they felt like they couldn't have a fair trial in this country.' The SFO, which both prosecutes and investigates the most serious white-collar crime in Britain, had opposed Hayes' appeal the entire way through the process, maintaining the convictions were secured fairly. It said in a statement it will 'ensure all those convicted in related cases are aware of the judgment.' 'It is a matter for them as to any steps they wish to take,' it added. Trader Power Libor had been a constant — but largely unknown — presence in financial markets before it became associated with the financial crisis. It was used to determine the price of everything from interest-rate swaps to mortgages and credit card rates. Setting the reference rate was in the power of a handful of traders at a group of 16 of the world's largest banks. Each morning across the City of London at around 11 a.m., they had the task of submitting the rate at which banks were charged for lending to one another. Once submitted, the top and bottom 25% of submissions would be removed and the remaining numbers averaged. The rate was supposed to reflect banks' cost of borrowing from one another — but by making artificially higher or lower submissions, traders could affect the final rate to the benefit of their trading positions. Hayes' 2015 conviction followed a two-month London trial where he was found guilty of working with traders and brokers to game Libor. He had been a star performer at UBS in Tokyo from 2006 until 2009, when he joined Citigroup Inc. He was dismissed by the American bank less than a year later as the Libor scandal began to widen. In its decision Wednesday, the UK Supreme Court said the Hayes jury had been misdirected by a judge, who was wrong to say that a bank's commercial reasons couldn't play a part in a rate submission. It also said that 'jury directions given in later cases, including at the trial of Mr. Palombo, followed in material respects those given at the trial of Mr. Hayes.' That will give other traders hope. For the SFO, the landmark ruling is a blow to its reputation. It's a 'sharp repudiation of the way benchmark manipulation prosecutions have been conducted over the past decade,' said David Hamilton, a partner at London law firm Howard Kennedy who's primary areas include fraud and business crime. 'This decision will reverberate across financial crime enforcement.' --With assistance from Hillary Boye Doku. (Updates with additional comment from Hayes. Earlier versions of this story corrected the day of the court decision and an error in a graphic.) 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