Latest news with #Libor
Western Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Judicial system needs ‘shake-up' after trader convictions, says Sir David Davis
Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo were found guilty over benchmark interest rate rigging in 2015 and 2019 respectively, but had their convictions quashed at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The former UBS trader and the ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank were said to have manipulated the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor). Speaking at a press conference following the Supreme Court judgment, Sir David described the two men as 'scapegoats for the sins that led to the financial crisis'. Former traders Carlo Palombo and Tom Hayes had their convictions quashed by five Supreme Court justices (Jordan Pettitt/PA) He said: 'The implications are far-reaching and of course have been devastating for those caught up in it. 'There were several other people convicted of rate rigging, dozens of others who were either prosecuted, acquitted or not prosecuted. Their lives were upended too. 'This scapegoating exercise happened as a result of collusion between the banks and government agencies, including the SFO (Serious Fraud Office) and FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and we're not done with that. 'This scandal also highlights the need for urgent reform within our justice system on a range of issues – the handling of expert witnesses right through to the rigidity of the appeals system.' In an 82-page judgment, with which Supreme Court president Lord Reed, Lords Hodge and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Simler agreed, Lord Leggatt said judges' misdirection to the juries had led to the men's wrongful convictions. He said: 'The history of these two cases raises concerns about the effectiveness of the criminal appeal system in England and Wales in confronting legal error.' Sir David said the Supreme Court justices 'did not unpack' why the appeal system fell into error in these cases. He said: 'I think the judicial system needs a shake-up, and this is the latest demonstrator of it, and we will be returning to it in the future.' Mr Hayes said he believes the trials of the two men became caught up in the politics of the financial crisis, adding that there was a 'big desire from institutions and politicians, acting in their own interest largely', for traders to go to prison. Asked about his thoughts on what role juries play in cases like his and Mr Palombo's, he said it was a 'dangerous idea' for complicated fraud and financial cases to be heard only by a judge. The former trader added: 'The jury is the last defensive barrier that every citizen in this country has between them and a wrongful conviction. 'And are juries perfect? No, they're not. Do they make mistakes? Yes, they do. And you know, it's the best of a whole load of options, none of which is perfect.' Ben Rose, part of Mr Palombo's legal team, said Wednesday's Supreme Court judgment is 'likely to offer a route' by which others who have been convicted in similar circumstances 'can right the wrong that has been done to them'. He also said there was a 'fundamental error' in the way the case was prosecuted and that the role of the jury was 'overridden and usurped' by the judges. The lawyer added: 'That should not happen in a country that abides by the rule of law.'
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Two former traders have rate rigging convictions quashed at Supreme Court
Former Citigroup and UBS trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud over manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) between 2006 and 2010. Carlo Palombo, ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank, was found guilty of conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) submissions between 2005 and 2009. Carlo Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019 (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from both men in March last year. They then took their cases to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the panel of five justices found there was 'ample evidence' for a jury to convict the two men had it been properly directed, but they had not. In an 82-page judgment, with which Supreme Court president Lord Reed, Lords Hodge and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Simler agreed, Lord Leggatt said: 'That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.' The jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, Lord Leggatt said. He added: 'Mr Hayes was entitled to have his defence to the allegation that he agreed to procure false submissions as well as his denial that he had acted dishonestly left fairly to the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair. 'It is not possible to say that, if the jury had been properly directed, they would have been bound to return verdicts of guilty. 'The convictions are therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Tom Hayes, right, took his case to the Supreme Court (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Mr Hayes was jailed for 14 years after his conviction in 2015, which was later lowered to 11 years after an appeal, while Mr Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019. Lord Leggatt continued: 'When the flaws in the directions given at Mr Palombo's trial are considered in combination, it cannot safely be assumed that, without them, the jury would still have been bound to convict Mr Palombo. 'Thus, his conviction also cannot stand.' He added: 'Accordingly, both appeals should be allowed.' Speaking outside the Supreme Court in London after the judgment, Mr Hayes said: 'I've had 10 years to think about what I was going to say and it has all gone. 'It feels very surreal, a bit like my conviction, like it's not really happening to me. 'I'm just very grateful to all the justices who heard the appeal, very grateful to all the people who have supported me, strangers and friends alike. 'My faith in the criminal justice system at times was likely destroyed and it has been restored by the justices from the Supreme Court today and I think it's only right that more criminal appeals should be heard at this level.' The Libor rate was previously used as a reference point around the world for setting millions of pounds worth of financial deals, including car loans and mortgages. Carlo Palombo was ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank (Jordan Pettitt/PA) It was an interest rate average calculated from figures submitted by a panel of leading banks in London, with each one reporting what it would be charged were it to borrow from other institutions. Euribor was created along with the euro currency in 1999 as a benchmark rate of interest for transactions in euros. In 2012, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating Libor and Euribor. Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, who opposed his and Mr Palombo's appeals at the Supreme Court. The SFO brought prosecutions against 20 individuals between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted. Mr Hayes had also been facing criminal charges in the United States but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022. In a statement issued after the judgment, the SFO said it would not be seeking a retrial. It said: 'Our investigation led to nine convictions of senior bankers for fraud offences, with two of these individuals pleading guilty and seven found guilty by juries. 'This judgment has determined that the legal directions given to the jury at the conclusion of trial were incorrect in Hayes' and Palombo's trials and for that reason their convictions have today been found unsafe. '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.' Tom Hayes, who had his conviction over interest rate rigging quashed at the Supreme Court, celebrated outside the court alongside his legal team and Tory MP David Davis.
CNN
an hour ago
- Business
- CNN
Court overturns ex-Citi trader Hayes' criminal conviction for interest rate rigging
Tom Hayes, the first trader ever jailed for interest rate rigging, had his conviction overturned by Britain's top court Wednesday after a years-long fight to clear his name. The UK Supreme Court unanimously allowed Hayes' appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate. The court said there had been 'ample evidence' for a jury to reasonably conclude Hayes had conspired with others to manipulate Libor submissions – much of it coming from Hayes' own interviews with Britain's Serious Fraud Office, which brought the charges against him. But the jury 10 years ago was misdirected by the judge, the court said, and that 'undermined the fairness of the trial.' Supreme Court judge George Leggatt said Hayes was entitled to present his defense against allegations that he conspired to submit false information, including his insistence that he acted honestly, and to have those claims fairly considered by the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair,' the court said, adding that his convictions were 'therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Hayes had initially received a 14-year prison sentence, later reduced to 11 years on appeal. He served five and a half years before being released on license in 2021. A former star Citigroup and UBS trader, Hayes became the face of the global Libor scandal and challenged his conviction during three days of hearings at the UK Supreme Court along with Carlo Palombo, 46, a former Barclays trader who was found guilty in 2019 of skewing Libor's euro equivalent, Euribor. The court also quashed Palombo's conviction. He was given a four-year sentence in 2019. The SFO said that after considering the judgment it would not be in the public interest for it to seek a retrial. Hayes and Palombo had argued that their convictions depended on a definition of Libor and Euribor that assumes there is an absolute legal bar on a bank's commercial interests being taken into account when setting rates. The Libor rate, phased out in 2023, was designed to reflect banks' short-term funding costs and based on daily estimates from a group of banks as to how much they would expect to pay to borrow funds from each other for a range of currencies and periods. Hayes' challenge at the Supreme Court followed a landmark US court decision in 2022 that overturned the Libor rigging convictions of two former Deutsche Bank traders.
CNN
an hour ago
- Business
- CNN
Court overturns ex-Citi trader Hayes' criminal conviction for interest rate rigging
Tom Hayes, the first trader ever jailed for interest rate rigging, had his conviction overturned by Britain's top court Wednesday after a years-long fight to clear his name. The UK Supreme Court unanimously allowed Hayes' appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate. The court said there had been 'ample evidence' for a jury to reasonably conclude Hayes had conspired with others to manipulate Libor submissions – much of it coming from Hayes' own interviews with Britain's Serious Fraud Office, which brought the charges against him. But the jury 10 years ago was misdirected by the judge, the court said, and that 'undermined the fairness of the trial.' Supreme Court judge George Leggatt said Hayes was entitled to present his defense against allegations that he conspired to submit false information, including his insistence that he acted honestly, and to have those claims fairly considered by the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair,' the court said, adding that his convictions were 'therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Hayes had initially received a 14-year prison sentence, later reduced to 11 years on appeal. He served five and a half years before being released on license in 2021. A former star Citigroup and UBS trader, Hayes became the face of the global Libor scandal and challenged his conviction during three days of hearings at the UK Supreme Court along with Carlo Palombo, 46, a former Barclays trader who was found guilty in 2019 of skewing Libor's euro equivalent, Euribor. The court also quashed Palombo's conviction. He was given a four-year sentence in 2019. The SFO said that after considering the judgment it would not be in the public interest for it to seek a retrial. Hayes and Palombo had argued that their convictions depended on a definition of Libor and Euribor that assumes there is an absolute legal bar on a bank's commercial interests being taken into account when setting rates. The Libor rate, phased out in 2023, was designed to reflect banks' short-term funding costs and based on daily estimates from a group of banks as to how much they would expect to pay to borrow funds from each other for a range of currencies and periods. Hayes' challenge at the Supreme Court followed a landmark US court decision in 2022 that overturned the Libor rigging convictions of two former Deutsche Bank traders.
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Two former traders have rate rigging convictions quashed at Supreme Court
Two financial market traders who were jailed for manipulating benchmark interest rates have had their convictions quashed at the Supreme Court. Former Citigroup and UBS trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud over manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) between 2006 and 2010. Carlo Palombo, ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank, was found guilty of conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) submissions between 2005 and 2009. The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from both men in March last year. They then took their cases to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the panel of five justices found there was 'ample evidence' for a jury to convict the two men had it been properly directed, but they had not. In an 82-page judgment, with which Supreme Court president Lord Reed, Lords Hodge and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Simler agreed, Lord Leggatt said: 'That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.' The jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, Lord Leggatt said. He added: 'Mr Hayes was entitled to have his defence to the allegation that he agreed to procure false submissions as well as his denial that he had acted dishonestly left fairly to the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair. 'It is not possible to say that, if the jury had been properly directed, they would have been bound to return verdicts of guilty. 'The convictions are therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Mr Hayes was jailed for 14 years after his conviction in 2015, which was later lowered to 11 years after an appeal, while Mr Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019. Lord Leggatt continued: 'When the flaws in the directions given at Mr Palombo's trial are considered in combination, it cannot safely be assumed that, without them, the jury would still have been bound to convict Mr Palombo. 'Thus, his conviction also cannot stand.' He added: 'Accordingly, both appeals should be allowed.' Speaking outside the Supreme Court in London after the judgment, Mr Hayes said: 'I've had 10 years to think about what I was going to say and it has all gone. 'It feels very surreal, a bit like my conviction, like it's not really happening to me. 'I'm just very grateful to all the justices who heard the appeal, very grateful to all the people who have supported me, strangers and friends alike. 'My faith in the criminal justice system at times was likely destroyed and it has been restored by the justices from the Supreme Court today and I think it's only right that more criminal appeals should be heard at this level.' The Libor rate was previously used as a reference point around the world for setting millions of pounds worth of financial deals, including car loans and mortgages. It was an interest rate average calculated from figures submitted by a panel of leading banks in London, with each one reporting what it would be charged were it to borrow from other institutions. Euribor was created along with the euro currency in 1999 as a benchmark rate of interest for transactions in euros. In 2012, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating Libor and Euribor. Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, who opposed his and Mr Palombo's appeals at the Supreme Court. The SFO brought prosecutions against 20 individuals between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted. Mr Hayes had also been facing criminal charges in the United States but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022. In a statement issued after the judgment, the SFO said it would not be seeking a retrial. It said: 'Our investigation led to nine convictions of senior bankers for fraud offences, with two of these individuals pleading guilty and seven found guilty by juries. 'This judgment has determined that the legal directions given to the jury at the conclusion of trial were incorrect in Hayes' and Palombo's trials and for that reason their convictions have today been found unsafe. '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.'
