Libor scandal: Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes to discover whether any of his assets will be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act
Tom Hayes will soon find out whether any of his assets will be confiscated as proceeds of crime after a court hearing on the matter drew to a close last Friday.
Assets that the former UBS and Citigroup trader, who was found guilty last August on eight counts of conspiracy to defraud for his role in manipulating Libor, could be asked to part with include a house in Surrey valued at £1.7m, wedding rings belonging to both him and his wife and a Mercedes-Benz car. In total, the list of items is worth over £2m.
Over the course of the hearing at the Old Bailey, the prosecution argued that Hayes had only been able to obtain the kind of salary and bonuses he had done because he had been able to secure his employers handsome profits through the rigging of Libor.
However, Reuters reported that Hayes' legal team pointed to interviews he had previously given to the Serious Fraud Office, where the ex-trader remarked that dishonest Libor activities only accounted for roughly five per cent of his trades.
The confiscation hearing was overseen by Justice Jeremy Cooke, the same judge who handed Hayes his initial sentence last year.
Should Justice Cooke decide that some or all of Hayes' assets can be confiscated, the former trader will potentially have to pay over millions. If he cannot stump up either the money or the assets, he could face further time in jail.
It also came to light during the hearing that the ex-trader had suffered a breakdown shortly after allegations started to roll in from both sides of the Atlantic and that he had lost the better part of £1m trying to trade to raise money to cover his legal fees.
Hayes was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison, but this was reduced to 11 years by the Court of Appeal last December. Hayes had also intended to appeal to the Supreme Court, but this was blocked earlier this month.