The Court of Appeal in London has quashed the convictions of five former Barclays traders jailed for rigging interest rates. The overturned convictions involve Jay Vijay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon and Colin Bermingham.
The Guardian reports this follows a year after the Supreme Court overturned a conviction against City trader Tom Hayes in a related case. The five Barclays traders say they have been fighting to clear their names.
The interest-rate rigging scandal centred on manipulation of LIBOR, the benchmark rate used across global financial markets. The convictions of these five traders now join a growing pattern of successful appeals in cases stemming from the wider LIBOR investigation.
This development marks a significant reversal in a series of prosecutions that began years earlier. The overturning of convictions suggests either that the original charges lacked sufficient legal foundation or that the Court of Appeal identified procedural or evidentiary problems in the trials.
The Guardian does not provide detail on the specific grounds for the appeal court's decision or when the traders were originally convicted and sentenced. It also does not state how long they served in prison or whether they plan further legal action regarding compensation.