Four UK Traders Plan Appeal After Libor Conviction Overturn

Following the UK Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn the convictions of traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo for manipulating Libor and Euribor rates, four other traders—Jay Merchant, Philippe Moryoussef, Jonathan Mathew, and Christian Bittar—are now seeking to appeal their own convictions. These convictions stemmed from Serious Fraud Office investigations into widespread benchmark interest rate manipulation uncovered after the 2008 financial crisis, which led to nine total convictions and nearly $10 billion in fines paid by banks and brokers. The Supreme Court ruled that the original trials of Hayes and Palombo were unfair due to flawed jury instructions, a rationale that lawyers for the four other traders argue applies to their cases as well. The Serious Fraud Office has declined to comment on the new appeals but has stated it will not seek retrials for Hayes and Palombo, effectively ending their decade-long legal battles. The Libor scandal, which permanently retired the benchmark rate in 2023, revealed complex collusion among major financial institutions to rig rates for profit, with some arguing the prosecutions targeted normal commercial behavior to appease public anger. The appeals by Merchant, Moryoussef, Mathew, and Bittar highlight ongoing legal scrutiny and challenges to the handling of these high-profile financial crime cases.