Trader Tom Hayes wins right to appeal interest rate fraud conviction

Tom Hayes was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released after serving five and a half years in 2021. Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Getty Images Europe

The British banker who was first found guilty of rigging the Libor interest rate was given the right to appeal after a seven-year battle.

Tom Hayes, former star trader at UBS , was accused in both the US and UK of being a key member of the global Libor manipulation conspiracy and is on trial in London.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released after serving punishment. five and a half years in 2021.

The Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice, said on Thursday that the case was referred to the Court of Appeal «after a wide-ranging and complex review» that lasted more than six years. /p>

Hayes previously lost a 2021 reconsideration attempt.

On Thursday, he said: “I am delighted that the CCRC returned my case to the Court of Appeal today. after six and a half years of investigation.

“The time has come for all those convicted of Libor fraud to get justice. Although we have all served prison sentences, the scars of our experience remain today and continue to haunt us.”

Libor — or the London Interbank Offered Rate, once considered the most important number in the world — has been used since the 1980s as a benchmark for lending between banks.

In 2012, traders were accused of fixed the rate for their own benefit or artificially low Libor to flatter their own financial reputation.

< p>They allegedly conspired over an internet chat when a banker agreed to cheat the market in exchange for a free sushi roll.

Last year, a New York court cleared Hayes of US criminal charges. .

The decision marks the latest twist in the Libor scandal, which has resulted in around $9bn (£7.8bn) in global fines for some of the world's biggest banks.

Seriously, the Fraud Bureau said the former UBS and Citigroup star was at the center of a network of 10 firm traders who conspired to manipulate the Libor benchmark. Hayes has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and sought to have his conviction overturned.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) led a seven-year investigation into betting fraud that closed in 2019 after three convictions and a guilty plea against Barclays bankers.

An SFO spokesman said: “All of our prosecutions are based on evidence and applicable law. We are ready to support the Court of Appeal in this case.”