The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today provided an update regarding its criminal investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court today found five individuals not guilty of conspiracy to defraud via the alleged manipulation of LIBOR.
Colin John Goodman, Danny Martin Wilkinson, Terry John Farr, James Andrew Gilmour and Noel Anthony Cryan were acquitted of all charges after a four-month trial. A sixth defendant, Darrell Paul Read, was found not guilty on one count and the jury keep considering the case in respect of Mr Read on a further count.
Read, Goodman and Wilkinson are all former employees at ICAP plc (LON:IAP); Farr and Gilmour are former employees of RP Martin Holdings Limited; and Cryan – of Tullett Prebon Group Ltd.
The SFO alleged that the six defendants conspired with Tom Hayes, who was convicted after trial and sentenced in 2015, to influence the submissions of panel banks in the Yen LIBOR setting process.
Commenting on the case, Director of the SFO David Green CB QC said:
“The key issue in this trial was whether these defendants were party to a dishonest agreement with Tom Hayes. By their verdicts the jury have said that they could not be sure that this was the case. Nobody could sensibly suggest that these charges should not have been brought and considered by a jury.”
A further trial of individuals charged with the manipulation of US Dollar LIBOR is set to commence on February 15, 2016, whereas a trial of individuals charged with the manipulation of EURIBOR is set to begin in September 2017.
The official announcement on the SFO website can be viewed by clicking here.