City traders have rate-rigging convictions quashed

Two old city traders in the center of one of the biggest scandals of the financial crisis broke their convictions After a 10 -year fight.

Tom Hayes And Carlo Palombo was imprisoned after the hearings to manipulate the interest rates used for loans between banks.

They were among the 19 city merchants convicted in the United States and the UK because they manipulated the Libor and Euribor interest rates used to determine borrowing costs in mortgage and commercial loans.

Mr. Hayes added that the conviction “destroyed” his family.

The decision represents a right for traders who say that they have been victims of a series of low justice for 10 years.

They claimed that they were incorrectly prosecuted for normal commercial practices to appease the people’s anger against the banks on the financial crisis.

The Supreme Court decided that the hearings of Mr. Hayes and Mr. Palombo were unfair and disrupted their conviction.

Speaking outside the court, Hayes said that the decision was “ruthless and harmful” after the sentence “for a long time”. He was imprisoned for five and a half years.

“He destroyed my family [I] He missed most of my son’s childhood, dedi he said, and he added that this led to the end of his marriage.

“I have been an international illegal for a long time … And now I can continue with my life or I can try it.”

Mr. Palombo said it was a “crazy experience”.

Orum I don’t even know how I feel right now, ”he said. “This is a mixture of relief and happiness.”

Serious fraud office that brought the case, said he would not be tried again.

Mr. Hayes and Mr. Palombo A group of merchants and brokers were prosecuted to investigate interest rates Between 2015-2019, in the nine criminal cases in London and New York.

Mr. Hayes, the former merchant of the Swiss Bank UBS, became the first banker imprisoned on scandal in 2015.

He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison, reduced to 11 years on appeal and was later released in January 2021.

Mr. Palombo was sentenced to four years in prison in 2019. He was also released in 2021.

The 2008 financial crisis took place after the explosion of the housing balloon and caused widespread panic by banks that have invested billions and billions of dollars in the sector.

The collapse of the US Investment Bank Lehman brothers – once considered “too big to fail” – sent shock waves through the global financial system spreading to the wider economy and triggered stagnation in many countries.

BBC, The interest rates are much larger, the state -led ‘coat of arma’During the financial crisis, under the pressure of central banks and governments around the world.

Downing Street and Bank of England He was suppressed during criminal cases.

In 2022, the US courts said that there was no evidence that traders had violated any laws or rules, and that all American convictions were broken – the only country in which they were accused of being accused of Britain.

In the UK, traders’ cases were prevented from reaching the Supreme Court by the Court of Appeal five times between 2015-2019.

Now the Supreme Court has cleared Mr. Hayes and Mr. Palombo, the rest of the traders will also apply to the deterioration of their convictions called “arma”.

In a statement, the serious fraud office (SFO) accepted the decision that determined the instructions given to the jury at the end of Mr. Hayes and acknowledged that Mr. Palombo’s hearings were wrong, that is, his conviction was found insecure.

“We thought of this judgment and the full conditions carefully and determined that we would not be in the public interest for our search for a re -judgment.” He said.

The decision comes 13 years after SFO starts to investigate some traders to try to influence some traders of some traders through Euribor and now unlimited LIBOR.

• Libor or London inter -bank loan rate is the basic interest rate used to determine borrowing costs for trillions of dollars of financial agreement.
• After the financial crisis in 2008, it became the focus of the allegations of making wrong
• Duzines were accused of trying to manipulate the level of Libor, and to help the banks they work with.
• Libor has gradually removed after 2021