Former Deutsche Bank trader who pleaded guilty to Euribor rate rigging let off £6.5m fine
A former Deutsche Bank trader who pleaded guilty to rigging the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) has escaped from a £6.5m fine after the City watchdog ruled his conviction was punishment enough.
Christian Bittar, once Deutsche Bank's star trader, was sentenced to five years after he pleaded guilty to rigging Euibor, an interest rate benchmark linked to trillions of dollars worth of loans and derivatives.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had threatened to impose a £6.5m fine on Bittar but said that because he was serving a jail term and had received a £2.5m confiscation the additional fine was not needed.
The regulator also banned Bittar from the profession, saying he "lacks integrity".
Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA said Bittar's actions at the bank, in which he was found to have submitted high or low Euribor submissions to bolster his own trading position, was a "tale of gross misconduct and betrayal of the public interest in financial benchmarks".
Three other traders linked to Bittar – Colin Bermingham, Sisse Bohart and Carlo Palombo, who all used to work for Barclays – are currently awaiting a retrial in their case with the Serious Fraud Office which has accused them of taking part on a conspiracy to rig the Euribor rate.