Ex-bankers jailed for rigging rates have convictions quashed

Five former Barclays traders sentenced in one of the biggest scandals of the financial crisis have had their convictions overturned following a long-running legal battle.

Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon, Colin Bermingham were convicted following trials for manipulating the interest rates used for loans between banks.

But their convictions were quashed on Wednesday by the Court of Appeal. The ruling came after two other former City traders had their convictions overturned last year, which has paved the way for others to appeal.

The traders were cast by prosecutors as a symbol of banker greed amid public backlash and anger during the 2008 financial crisis.

Merchant, Mathew, Pabon and Bermingham have all served various jail terms. Moryoussef was sentenced in his absence in 2018, never returned to the UK to serve time after France refused to extradite him.

The prosecutions were over the manipulation of two key interest rate mechanisms: Libor and Euribor, which at the time were used to set borrowing costs on a range of loans such as mortgages and car finance deals.

Mathew said the “strain” of what he had gone through had been a burden on him for the last 10 years.

“Having this conviction quashed is not simply about correcting the record, it’s about finally having validation that this is an injustice that never should have happened,” the 45-year-old said.

“I now have two children and this means a great deal to have the record corrected for their sake as well.”

Merchant, 55, added that he looked forward to moving on with life, but said part of that would be “ensuring that those responsible for what happened are held fully accountable”.

Lord Justice Edis said full reasons behind the overturned convictions would be given later on Wednesday.