Ex-trader Tom Hayes wins appeal to overturn rate-rigging conviction

23/7/2025 17:46

Tom Hayes, the first trader ever jailed for interest rate rigging, had his conviction overturned by Britain's top court on Wednesday after a years-long fight to clear his name.



The UK Supreme Court unanimously allowed Hayes' appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate.



The court said there had been "ample evidence" for a jury to reasonably conclude Hayes had conspired with others to manipulate Libor submissions - much of it coming from Hayes' own interviews with Britain's Serious Fraud Office, which brought the charges against him.



But the jury ten years ago was misdirected by the judge, the court said, and that "undermined the fairness of the trial".



Supreme Court judge George Leggatt said Hayes was entitled to present his defence against allegations that he conspired to submit false information, including his insistence that he acted honestly, and to have those claims fairly considered by the jury.



"He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair," the court said, adding that his convictions were "therefore unsafe and cannot stand."