UK Court of Appeal Quashes Five Barclays Traders' Libor Convictions
The UK Court of Appeal has overturned the convictions of five former Barclays traders for manipulating interest-rate benchmarks, following a 2025 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the conviction of Tom Hayes. The Serious Fraud Office did not oppose the appeals, marking a significant collapse in the Libor prosecutions.
Key points
- The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon, and Colin Bermingham on October 7, 2026.
- The ruling follows a 2025 Supreme Court decision that found jury directions in Tom Hayes' trial were 'inaccurate and unfair,' depriving him of a fair trial.
- Lord Justice Edis stated that the legal error identified in Hayes' case was 'directly replicated' in the ex-Barclays bankers' cases.
- The Serious Fraud Office did not contest the appeals, stating it was not in the public interest to seek retrials for Hayes and Carlo Palombo, and did not oppose the appeals for the five Barclays traders.
- The cases were referred to the court in January by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates miscarriages of justice.
Background
The Libor scandal resulted in banks paying billions in fines and settlements, with prosecutions becoming a lightning rod for public anger over the global financial crisis. However, more than a dozen convictions have since been overturned on both sides of the Atlantic. Tom Hayes, the first trader found guilty by a jury for Libor rigging, spent five-and-a-half years in prison before his conviction was quashed in July 2025. The archive notes that mortgage rates have remained high in 2026, with 30-year fixed rates hovering near 7%, but this is unrelated to the Libor scandal's legal proceedings.
Why it matters
The quashing of these convictions marks a significant unraveling of the UK's Libor-rigging prosecutions, highlighting systemic issues in the legal process and raising questions about the fairness of the original trials. It underscores the ongoing debate over the justice system's handling of financial crimes and the impact of legal errors on high-profile cases.
What to watch
The court will consider the case of ex-Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar later this week. Bittar pleaded guilty to manipulating Euribor in 2018 and was jailed for more than five years. The outcome of his case may further influence the trajectory of remaining Libor-related prosecutions.
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