Latest news with #rigging
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Conviction Overturned: Tom Hayes Slams Politicised Trial as ‘Disgusting'
On Wednesday, the UK Supreme Court quashed the convictions of Hayes and ex-Barclays Plc trader Carlo Palombo, stating that the juries had been misdirected by judges at both criminal trials. Hayes was given an 11 year sentence after appeal for rigging Libor in 2015, while Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019 for manipulating Euribor. Former UBS Group trader Tom Hayes Spoke to Stephen Carroll and Joumanna Bercetche on Bloomberg Radio. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
The Tom Hayes Libor Appeal Was a Decade in the Making: Timeline
Tom Hayes' legal fortunes have swung back and forth since he was first arrested by UK police 13 years ago as part of global investigations into Libor rigging. Hayes joined UBS Group AG as a yen interest-rate swap trader in Tokyo in 2006. He then switched to Citigroup Inc. and was fired in 2009 after an internal investigation found he had manipulated the London interbank offered rate.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Traders found guilty of rigging interest rates have convictions quashed by Supreme Court
Former financial market traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, who were found guilty of benchmark interest rate rigging, 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, the 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. After the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from both men in March 2024, they 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.' A spokesperson for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it would not be seeking a retrial. In a statement issued after the judgment, 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.' The investigations 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, which 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.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Tom Hayes Wins Supreme Court Bid to Overturn Decade-Old Libor Conviction
Tom Hayes, the former star UBS Group AG trader who became the face of the Libor rigging scandal, overturned his criminal conviction at the UK's top court clearing his name a decade after he was sent to jail. In a stunning reversal, the UK Supreme Court quashed the convictions of Hayes and ex- Barclays Plc trader Carlo Palombo on Wednesday. The court allowed both appeals, stating that the juries had been misdirected by judges at both criminal trials. Hayes was given an 11 year sentence after appeal for rigging Libor in 2015, while Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019 for manipulating Euribor.
