The first individual to be charged and stand trial in the UK, as a result of the Serious Fraud Office’s ongoing criminal investigation into Libor manipulation, has been convicted and sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.
Tom Hayes, aged 35, from Surrey, a former derivatives trader at UBS and Citigroup, was found guilty yesterday (3 August) by a jury of all eight counts of conspiracy to defraud. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
While working at UBS and Citigroup, the SFO said Mr Hayes “conspired with numerous other individuals” to procure or make submissions of rates into the Yen Libor setting process that were false or misleading, thereby intending to prejudice the economic interests of others.
Mr Hayes’ offences took place between August 2006 and December 2009, when he was an employee of UBS, and December 2009 and September 2010, when he was an employee of Citigroup.
The jury heard how Mr Hayes “repeatedly” asked rival traders and brokers, as well as submitters in his own banks, to move Yen Libor submissions up or down to “suit his needs, often by offering to reward them for their efforts”.
David Green, director of the SFO, said: “The jury were sure that in his admitted manipulation of Libor, Hayes was indeed dishonest. The verdicts underline the point that bankers are subject to the same standards of honesty as the rest of us.
“This brings to an end one strand of the SFO’s continuing Libor investigation. Another 12 individuals await their trial, of which one has pleaded guilty.”
The trial of some of Hayes’ alleged co-conspirators begins on 21 September 2015, the SFO said, with a further trial of individuals charged with the manipulation of US dollar Libor beginning on 11 January 2016.
donia.o’loughlin@ft.com
