Third Libor trader prepares submission for jail term to be reviewed

A second former Barclays banker convicted of Libor-rigging offences is preparing to submit his case - Bloomberg

A SECOND former Barclays banker convicted of Libor-rigging offences is preparing to submit his case to an independent body that reviews alleged miscarriages of justice.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has already accepted an application from the jailed UBS trader Tom Hayes and is considering another from Jonathan Mathew, a former Barclays banker jailed in July last year.

Now laywers for Jay Merchant, a 46-year old former colleague convicted alongside Mr Mathew, have told The Daily Telegraph they will also attempt to overturn his conviction via the CCRC.

The organisation is seen as a last resort following an unsuccessful appeal.

Earlier this year it accepted the case of Mr Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader who became the first person in Britain jailed over Libor-rigging. He is currently serving an 11-year jail sentence.

Of the three former Barclays bankers charged last summer, Mr Merchant was given the longest sentence at six-and-a-half years. The jail term was reduced to five-and-a-half years in February on appeal.

Benchmarks

When the trio were originally sentenced at Southwark Crown Court Mr Merchant was told he bore the “greatest responsibility” for the crime. Mr Mathew was given a four year sentence and Mr Pabon two years nine months, although he served just under a year.

As Mr Merchant, Mr Hayes and Mr Mathew all turn to the CCRC, Mr Pabon is still waiting to hear back from the Court of Appeal as to whether or not his application to appeal his conviction has been granted.

“If our appeal gets rejected at the COA [Court of Appeal], we will proceed on the CCRC,” Mr Pabon’s wife Julie told The Daily Telegraph. “We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure Alex’s fraudulent conviction is overturned.”

Questions were raised earlier this year after Saul Haydon Rowe, an expert witness, said he had texted friends for help understanding some of the terms that were being used in breaks during his testimony. Former Barclays traders Ryan Reich and Stylianos Contogoulas were then both acquitted of conspiracy to defraud in April.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is a benchmark used by borrowers and lenders to price trillions of pounds of financial products and contracts around the world.