US Appeals Court Overturns Former HSBC Trader's 2017 Fraud Conviction

A U.S. appeals court has overturned the 2017 fraud conviction of Mark Johnson, a former HSBC senior foreign exchange trader, who was accused of "front-running" a $3.5 billion currency trade for Cairn Energy. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the conviction was based on a now-invalid legal theory repudiated by a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, expressing serious doubts about alternative fraud theories used in the case. Johnson, who served two years in prison and was released on license in 2022, was originally convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy after prosecutors alleged he manipulated currency prices to benefit HSBC at Cairn's expense. His defense and industry experts argued that his actions were normal banking practice known as "pre-hedging" and did not violate any laws. Johnson's lawyer celebrated the acquittal as a victory after a nine-year legal battle, emphasizing that the case should never have been brought. The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the appeals court decision.