The Court of Appeal cleared Philippe Moryoussef, Jay Merchant, Colin Bermingham, Jonathan Mathew and Alex Pabon. The Serious Fraud Office did not contest the appeals.
London's Court of Appeal on Wednesday quashed the convictions of five former Barclays traders jailed for plotting to rig benchmark interest rates, Reuters reported. The men are Philippe Moryoussef, Jay Merchant, Colin Bermingham, Jonathan Mathew and Alex Pabon. Judges said they would give reasons later on Wednesday.
The Serious Fraud Office did not contest the appeals. It said the Supreme Court had found ample evidence on which a properly directed jury could have convicted Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, but that after considering that judgment it would not oppose these five appeals. The traders were sentenced to between 33 months and eight years between 2016 and 2019.
The applications followed the Supreme Court's 2025 decision overturning the convictions of Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, and Palombo. The court ruled that trial judges had misdirected juries. A further appeal by Christian Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader who pleaded guilty, is expected on Friday and is the only case the SFO is contesting.
Bermingham, 70, said outside court that it was hard to take in. Mathew, 45, said the ruling was validation that an injustice should never have happened. Moryoussef, 58, who fled to France, was tried in his absence and remains a fugitive. He said in a statement that he was regaining his soul.
Libor and Euribor once underpinned about 450 trillion dollars of contracts, Reuters reported. The item is the quashing of these five convictions, not a finding on every Libor prosecution.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Colin Bermingham said he did not believe the ruling until he heard it.
- Jonathan Mathew said the conviction should never have happened.
- Philippe Moryoussef said he could envision his next chapter in peace.