Former Barclays Traders Have Rate-Rigging Convictions Overturned

Five former Barclays traders have had their convictions for rate rigging overturned. These were landmark fraud prosecutions following the scandal over the rigging of benchmark rates which underpinned $350 trillion on loans and securities. Barclay's traders Alex Pabon, Jay Merchant, and Jonathan Matthew were convicted and jailed in 2016 for helping to manipulate Libore. Later, Philipe Morusf and Colin Birmingham were convicted of rigging your RyBore. Now, judges have quashed those verdicts. It follows the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the conviction of former UBS trader Tom Hayes. Hayes was the first and the most high-profile of those convicted for rate rigging, but the UK's highest court ruled his conviction was unsafe and exonerated him. The scandal came to light when the banking sector was already grappling with public outrage following the financial crisis. It led to global fines of almost $10 billion for dozens of banks and brokerages. And in the UK, serious fraud office prosecutions led to nine convictions. The former Deutsche Bank trader, Christian Bitar, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2018. He's soon to have his appeal hearing, which the serious fraud office says it will contest. And going forward, the SFO insists it will continue to prosecute complex fraud despite the convictions of these ex- traders being tossed by the courts.