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Five ex-Barclays traders, involved in one of the most significant scandals associated with the 2008 financial crisis, have had their convictions overturned after enduring extended legal proceedings. Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon, and Colin Bermingham were originally found guilty following trials that focused on their alleged manipulation of interest rates that banks use for interbank loans.
On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal overturned these convictions, a decision that followed the quashing of verdicts against two other former traders last year. Those earlier rulings opened the door for further appeals by others who had been sentenced in connection with the scandal. Prosecutors had portrayed these traders as emblematic of the greed attributed to bankers during the financial crisis, when public outrage against the banking sector was intense.
All except Moryoussef, who was sentenced in absentia and has avoided extradition from France, have served prison sentences. The charges revolved around tampering with the Libor and Euribor interest rates—key benchmark rates used at the time to determine borrowing costs on a wide array of loans, including mortgages and car financing. Reflecting on the experience, Mathew expressed that the ordeal had been a heavy burden for the past decade, emphasizing the importance of the convictions being overturned as a form of justice not just for himself but for his children. Merchant, also relieved, stated he looks forward to moving past the issue, while stressing the need for accountability from those responsible.
The financial meltdown in 2008 triggered widespread recessions and a public backlash against banks, which were largely rescued through government bailouts. The Libor scandal broke in 2012 when it was revealed that several banks had distorted their financial positions during the rate-setting process, thereby enhancing profits and concealing financial troubles. Between 2015 and 2019, nineteen traders were convicted in criminal trials held in both London and New York related to this manipulation.
The successful appeals on Wednesday pertained to individuals originally convicted of conspiracy to defraud related to their alleged influence on benchmark interest rates. Two other bankers—Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo—had previously secured the overturning of their convictions. Hayes, the first of the bankers to be imprisoned, won his decade-long battle against his conviction in the Supreme Court in July 2025, a verdict that, along with Palombo’s, helped others in similar positions challenge their cases. Pabon publicly praised Hayes for his persistence, noting that his efforts “pushed this through” for others involved.
The Serious Fraud Office, which prosecuted the original cases, did not oppose the recent appeals. At present, only two traders retain convictions linked to the interest rate rigging scandal: Christian Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader, and Peter Johnson, another former Barclays employee. Bittar, who pleaded guilty and was jailed in 2018, is set to challenge his conviction in October, while Johnson—originally the whistleblower in the Libor case—has also expressed intent to appeal after pleading guilty under advice amid slim chances of acquittal
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