First Libor case with ex-UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes comes to trial at Southwark Crown Court today
The first criminal trial over allegations of conspiracy to rig the Libor benchmark interest rate will start in London court today.
Tom Hayes, a former trader at banks UBS and Citigroup, will appear at Southwark crown court charged with eight counts of conspiring to rig the Libor rate.
Hayes previously pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud related to his time at the two banks between August 2006 and September 2010. Conspiracy to defraud has a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Libor is the rate at which banks lend to one another. As such, it influences repayment rates for things such as student loans and mortgages.
Regulators claim Hayes was one of a number of traders who conspired to move the libor rate up or down to suit their trading positions.
It's alleged that he colluded with others who worked at banks and financial firms including UBS, JP Morgan, RBS, Deutsche Bank, ICAP, RP Martin, Tullett Prebon, Rabobank, HSBC, Citi and others.
He was first arrested in December 2012 as part of the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate.