Ex-HSBC's Mark Johnson to Be Freed From Jail Pending Appeal

Former HSBC Holdings Plc trader Mark Johnson, the first person to be convicted in a global crackdown on currency rigging, was ordered freed from prison as he pursues an appeal arguing that he didn’t know he was breaking U.S. law. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan granted Johnson’s request Tuesday to be released in a brief order. A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, found Johnson, the bank’s former global head of foreign exchange, guilty of nine counts of wire fraud and conspiracy for front-running a $3.5 billion client order in December 2011.