Court of Appeal quashes convictions of five former Barclays traders

London's Court of Appeal has quashed the convictions of five former Barclays traders previously jailed for plotting to rig global benchmark interest rates. The traders—Philippe Moryoussef, Jay Merchant, Colin Bermingham, Jonathan Mathew, and Alex Pabon—had been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 33 months to eight years between 2016 and 2019.

The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision that overturned the convictions of other traders, including Tom Hayes, after finding that trial judges had misdirected juries. In this latest appeal, the court found that the evidence did not necessarily indicate a conspiracy against counterparties. Instead, the proceedings demonstrated that the traders were exchanging information that is considered standard practice within professional trading desks.

The Serious Fraud Office did not contest the appeals. The decision marks a significant setback for the SFO's high-profile prosecutions related to the Libor and Euribor scandals, which were originally framed as symbols of banker greed following the 2007-2009 credit crisis.