UK: Ex-Barclays trader found guilty of euro rate-rigging

An ex-Barclays currency trader has been found guilty of manipulating a key European lending rate, but a London jury failed to reach a verdict on three other former employees of the UK bank, reported Bloomberg.

Philippe Moryoussef, who fled to France to avoid the two-month trial, and a former Deutsche Bank trader, Christian Bittar, who pleaded guilty in March, will be sentenced next week. A decision on whether to retry the others – ex-Barclays traders Colin Bermingham, Carlo Palombo and Sisse Bohart – will also take place next week.

Prosecutors said that between 2005 and 2009, Bittar and Moryoussef were the ring leaders in the effort to rig Euribor, a benchmark which influences the price of thousands of securities. While the Serious Fraud Office won convictions of the pair, the case’s primary targets, the outcome raises questions about the prosecutors’ approach to the seven-year probe since none of the defendants who actually appeared at the London trial were convicted.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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