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Four ex-Barclays (BCS) bankers who were convicted for conspiring to manipulate global benchmark interest rates have been sentenced to time behind bars for their crimes. The defendants and their prison terms are: Jay Merchant, for six-and-a-half years; Jonathan Mathew for four years; Peter Johnson for four years, and Alex Pabon for two years and nine months.

While Merchant, Mathew, and Pabon were convicted of their crimes, Johnson, a former senior dollar Libor submitter and the ex-head of dollar cash trading, pleaded guilty in the case against him in 2014. They all were charged with conspiracy to defraud involving Libor rigging to benefit their banks and one another as they defrauded others.

The judge who presided over the former Barclays traders’ case accused them of abusing their position, committing the offenses more than once over a significant period of time, and compromising the banking industry. All of the men will serve half their prison terms before being released on license.

The manipulation of Libor, the London interbank offered rate, and other benchmark interest rates led to a global probe that has resulted in hefty fines for the firms whose brokers colluded together to rig rates. In 2012, Barclays admitted that it let its derivatives traders rig Libor rates. The bank paid $450M to authorities in the US and Europe to settle charges. Collectively, the banks accused in the Libor manipulation scandal have paid billions of dollars in penalties. There have been at least 13 convictions.

Wrapping up its case, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office accused former ICAP (IAP) brokers Danny Wilkinson, Darrell Read, and Colin Goodman, ex-Tullet Prebon employee Noel Cryan, and ex-RP Martin brokers Terry Farr and James Gilmour of behaving like a “well-oiled machine” as they allegedly helped former Citi (C) and UBS (UBS) trader Tom Hayes manipulate the London interbank offered rate (Libor). The office’s lawyer said that the six men are guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

In addition to purportedly assisting Hayes to Libor’s yen variant by deceiving clients about the market’s conditions, the men are also accused of trying to convince traders at other banks to submit false Libor rates. The prosecution has said that for the ex-brokers alleged wrongdoing, they received hundreds of thousands of pounds in kickbacks. The SFO said that the former traders agreed to to try to manipulate Libor in return for “wash trades,” which are transactions intended to make it look as if a sale and purchase have happened even though there has been no change in ownership.

All of the men have pleaded not guilty, with five of them maintaining that they were never involved in the Libor rigging scam at all. Ex-RP Martin trader Terry Farr is the only one who has admitted that he tried to help Hayes. However, his defense team argued that Farr was not aware that his actions were wrong because he only had a basic understanding of the finance industry and didn’t understand derivatives. Also, Cryan said that he lied when he told Hayes he was helping him manipulate Libor. He claims that he never actually engaged in the wrongdoing alleged. Hayes, who recently succeeded in getting his 14-year prison sentence reduced to 11 years following an appeal, made over $300M for his former employers by rigging Libor.

Articles Tagged with ICAP

Four Former Barclays Traders Get Prison Terms for Libor Rigging

Closing Arguments in UK Libor Trial Against Ex-RP Martin, Tullet Prebon, and Icap Brokers