Convictions of Five Ex-Bankers Jailed Over Rate-Rigging Scandal Overturned

The Court of Appeal has overturned the convictions of five former bankers who were jailed for manipulating interest-rate benchmarks, the BBC reported.

Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon and Colin Bermingham had all been convicted in connection with rigging Libor, a benchmark interest rate that once underpinned trillions of dollars in loans, mortgages and financial contracts worldwide before being phased out in most markets in recent years.

The BBC's report did not detail the specific legal grounds on which the Court of Appeal based its decision to quash the convictions, nor did it specify whether prosecutors intend to seek a retrial or further appeal.

The original Libor-rigging prosecutions, which began over a decade ago, were among the most prominent criminal cases to emerge from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when revelations that traders at major banks had colluded to manipulate the benchmark rate for profit triggered global regulatory scrutiny and reforms to how such rates are set.

Several of the individuals named had served prison sentences following their convictions, and the rate-rigging scandal more broadly resulted in multibillion-dollar fines against major financial institutions in the UK, US and Europe.

The report did not include comment from the five individuals, their legal representatives, or UK prosecutors on the Court of Appeal's ruling.