Trader Tom Hayes wins right to appeal UK LIBOR rigging conviction

investmentweek.co.uk:

Tom Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was found guilty of multiple charges of conspiracy to defraud by rigging the LIBOR | Credit: iStock

The CCRC, the body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, said today (6 July) that the Court of Appeal should clarify whether the right legal approach was taken in Hayes' case. 

The commission noted that in January 2022 a US Court judgement overturned the convictions of two other former traders convicted in similar circumstances. As a consequence, all charges against Hayes in the US were dropped.

Convicted LIBOR rigger Tom Hayes has US charges thrown out

«The CCRC has concluded that there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal will prefer the legal approach to the definition and operation of the LIBOR rules taken by the US Court and overturn Mr Hayes' conviction,» it said. 

Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was found guilty of multiple charges of conspiracy to defraud by rigging the LIBOR, a benchmark used to determine interest rates on mortgages and corporate loans.

He was released from low-security prison HMP Ford in January 2021, having served around half of an 11-year sentence.

Former Treasury Select Committee chair calls for re-examination of LIBOR scandal

In a statement, Hayes said he was «delighted» the CCRC had referred his case back to the Court of Appeal after a six and a half-year investigation. 

«It is now time for all those convicted of LIBOR rigging to get justice. Although we have all served our custodial sentence, the scars of our experiences remain today and continue to plague us,» he said. 

«It remains a tragedy that so many lives were ruined by the false narrative propagated