Five More Former Bankers Granted Fresh Appeal Opportunity Following Supreme Court Landmark Decision
In a significant development for one of Britain's most notorious financial scandals, five additional former bankers convicted of manipulating global interest rates have been given a new opportunity to challenge their fraud convictions. This move comes directly in the wake of last year's Supreme Court rulings that overturned the convictions of two other traders involved in the same scandal.
CCRC Intervention Following Supreme Court Precedent
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) announced on Thursday that it has formally referred the convictions of five ex-City traders back to the Court of Appeal. This decision follows the Supreme Court's groundbreaking July 2025 judgment that cleared Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo of their rate-rigging convictions, finding serious flaws in their original trials.
The men involved in this latest referral – Alex Pabon, Jay Vijay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham – were all imprisoned between 2016 and 2019 for their roles in manipulating either the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) or the now-defunct London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor).
Widespread Impact of Rate-Rigging Scandal
The manipulation of these benchmark interest rates had far-reaching consequences across global financial markets and ordinary households. These rates directly influenced the value of hundreds of trillions of pounds and euros worth of financial products worldwide, while simultaneously affecting millions of people's pensions, mortgages and savings across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Nine bankers originally received fraud convictions related to the scandal, including Hayes, whose case became particularly high-profile. The Serious Fraud Office, which originally prosecuted these cases, has now acknowledged that the convictions of these five men "may be considered unsafe" following the Supreme Court's rulings.
Legal Grounds for Appeal Referral
The CCRC's decision stems from its determination that there are no distinguishing factors between these five cases and those of Hayes and Palombo. The commission specifically cited "jury misdirection and legal errors" that have undermined the safety of all the convictions.
In their applications to the CCRC in August, Pabon, Merchant and Mathew argued that the trial judge provided legal directions that have since been found to be incorrect, thereby compromising the integrity of their convictions. Moryoussef and Bermingham similarly contended that their cases contained the same errors identified by the Supreme Court in Palombo's case.
The original convictions saw prison sentences ranging from two to eight years, with the defendants serving time in British prisons before their release. Now, their cases will proceed to the Court of Appeal, which will determine whether their convictions should be overturned.
Broader Implications and Ongoing Fallout
This development represents another chapter in the long-running Libor scandal saga that has shaken confidence in global financial markets. The scandal resulted in nearly $10 billion in fines for numerous banks and brokerages, while triggering widespread regulatory reforms across the financial sector.
In a related development, Tom Hayes announced in October that he is pursuing legal action against his former employer, Swiss bank UBS, seeking $400 million (£300 million) in damages. Hayes alleges that UBS made him a "hand-picked scapegoat" for the scandal and misrepresented his role to authorities, describing him as an "evil mastermind" behind the rate manipulation.
The Court of Appeal will now examine whether the same judicial errors identified in the Hayes and Palombo cases – particularly regarding "inaccurate and unfair" jury instructions – similarly invalidate the convictions of these five former traders. This process could potentially lead to further acquittals in one of the most significant financial misconduct cases in recent British history.
