Five former Barclays traders have convictions quashed in rate-rigging case

London’s Court of Appeal has quashed the convictions of Jay Vijay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon and Colin Bermingham, all former Barclays traders.

The men were jailed between 2016 and 2019 over allegations involving the manipulation of Euribor or Libor. The benchmarks affected pensions, mortgages and savings, as well as financial products worth hundreds of trillions of pounds and euros worldwide.

Their cases were referred to the appeal court in January by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Serious Fraud Office, which brought the original prosecutions, said after a Supreme Court ruling that the convictions might be unsafe and did not oppose the appeals.

Supreme Court found trial errors

The Supreme Court had earlier overturned the convictions of former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes and former Barclays trader Carlo Palombo. It found that trial judges had given juries “inaccurate and unfair” directions, ultimately depriving the defendants of a fair trial.

Palombo, who was sentenced to four years in 2019 for manipulating Euribor, was cleared in July 2025. Hayes became the first banker jailed for Libor manipulation when he was convicted in 2015.

Mathew said he had carried the burden of a criminal conviction for 10 years. Pabon thanked Hayes, saying he had continued pressing for the cases to be reviewed.

The ruling is another setback for the SFO after several high-profile prosecutions unravelled. The agency said the Supreme Court had nevertheless found that properly directed juries could have convicted Hayes and Palombo, while retrials were not considered to be in the public interest.

A separate appeal by former Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar, who pleaded guilty in 2018, is expected to be heard on Friday. The SFO is the only party contesting that appeal, arguing that his conviction was safe.