Trader wins the right to appeal over ‘rate-rigging’
City trader jailed for Libor fraud breaks down in tears as he wins right to appeal case in UK
A City trader jailed for Libor fraud has been given the right to appeal his case in the UK.
Tom Hayes told the Mail he burst into tears when he learned he had won the first step in the battle to clear his name after the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred his case to the Court of Appeal yesterday.
It has been six and a half years since he applied to the CCRC, which concluded that ‘there is a real possibility’ that his conviction could be overturned.
Hayes, 43, once shared a cell with a killer after becoming the first Briton convicted of setting Libor rates in 2015.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) argued that he was the “circus ringleader” of an international conspiracy to fix the global interest rate benchmark.
Appeal: Jailed trader Tom Hayes said he burst into tears when he learned he had won the first step in the fight to clear his name
His 14-year sentence was reduced to 11 years on appeal and he served five and a half. He said the experience destroyed his life.
The CCRC intervened after a US court acquitted two other former traders, Gavin Black and Matthew Connolly, who had been convicted in similar circumstances.
Helen Pitcher, CCRC President said: ‘After a lengthy and complex investigation, we have come to the conclusion that the Court of Appeal needs to clarify whether the correct legal approach has been taken.’
Hayes said, “It is time for all those convicted of Libor fraud to receive justice. Although we have all served our prison sentences, the scars of our experiences are still there and continue to torment us.’
His attorney, Karen Todner, said the conviction “requires immediate correction.”
The SFO said: ‘All of our prosecutions are based on evidence and applicable law. We stand ready to assist the Court of Appeal in considering this referral.”