Former City trader Tom Hayes given 14-year sentence for Libor rigging

The US says to big to jail, UK says put them in jail!

Hayes, 35, a former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader, was convicted of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud.

Sentencing him at London’s Southwark crown court, Mr Justice Cooke said: “The conduct involved here is to be marked out as dishonest and wrong and a message sent to the world of banking accordingly. The reputation of Libor is important to the city as a financial sector and the banking institutions of the City.

“Probity and honesty is essential as is trust. The Libor activity of which you played a leading part put all that in jeopardy.”

Motivated by greed and a desire for higher pay, the court heard that Hayes set up a network of brokers and traders that spanned 10 of the world’s most powerful financial institutions, cajoling and at times bribing them to help rig rates – designed to reflect the cost of interbank borrowing – for profit. Hayes would then place large bets on financial markets that were sensitive to Libor moves.

source

a reply to: AlaskanDad

GREAT! This is AWESOME to hear! If only we had this type of intolerance for white collar crime in the U.S.!

Maybe this will set precedent and more convictions will follow - hopefully not just in the UK. Thanks for sharing AlaskanDad. Great thread

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Only one guy? There were sooooo many people involved in this scandal from all over the world and so far one guy is convicted? Not shocking at all, and a trader at that.

It's usually the low level guys who get screwed in these instances but this time the sentence is a long one versus the usual 2-5 years.

a reply to: Swills

Another 12 individuals await their trial of which one has pleaded guilty.”

FTA:

The case was seen as a big test for the Serious Fraud Office and its effectiveness in policing banking fraud. In a statement after the trial, the SFO said: “The jury were sure that in his admitted manipulation of Libor, Hayes was indeed dishonest. The verdicts underline the point that bankers are subject to the same standards of honesty as the rest of us. This brings to an end one strand of the SFO’s continuing Libor investigation. Another 12 individuals await their trial of which one has pleaded guilty.”

Odd isn't it? People get less for murder.
Mess with money and you get longer than taking a life.
Good though but many more should have gotten jail.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

"It is in many ways the rate at which banks do not lend to each other, ...it is not a rate at which anyone is actually borrowing."

-Mervyn King, Bank of England

a reply to: greencmp

From your source:

Because Libor is used in US derivatives markets, an attempt to manipulate Libor is an attempt to manipulate US derivatives markets, and thus a violation of American law. Since mortgages, student loans, financial derivatives, and other financial products often rely on Libor as a reference rate, the manipulation of submissions used to calculate those rates can have significant negative effects on consumers and financial markets worldwide.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Only 12 more? Are they also low level guys? I bet they are.

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: AlaskanDad

Only 12 more? Are they also low level guys? I bet they are.

How many should there be???



FTA:

Justice Cooke said the essence of Hayes’s defence had been that the type of activity the accused had been involved in was commonplace. “The fact that others were doing the same as you is no excuse,” the judge said. Defence counsel Neil Hawes QC had argued before the sentencing that there were people who were more senior to Hayes who had been aware of the activities.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

There were more than just 12 people involved in this huge, but fairly quiet, scandal and it wasn't run by rogue low level traders looking for more money.

Rolling Stone did a great piece about it.

www.rollingstone.com...

a reply to: Swills

From your source:

ou may have heard of the Libor scandal, in which at least three – and perhaps as many as 16 – of the name-brand too-big-to-fail banks have been manipulating global interest rates

That does not look like much more than 12, the figure in:

Hayes, 35, a former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader

From OP's Article

So he worked for 2 of the 3 to 16 banks.

originally posted by: AlaskanDad
a reply to: Swills

From your source:

ou may have heard of the Libor scandal, in which at least three – and perhaps as many as 16 – of the name-brand too-big-to-fail banks have been manipulating global interest rates

That does not look like much more than 12, the figure in:

Hayes, 35, a former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader

From OP's Article

So he worked for 2 of the 3 to 16 banks.

You're reporting individuals, Rolling Stone is talking about 16 banks.

a reply to: Swills

Go read the Rolling Stone Matt Taibbi article, you linked!

It says:

3 to 16 banks

In a very theoretical, technical sense, the actual process by which banks submit Libor data – 18 geeks sending numbers to the British Bankers' Association offices in London once every morning – is not competitive per se.

At ICAP, the interest-rate swap desk, and the 19901 screen, were reportedly controlled by a small group of 20 or so brokers, some of whom were making millions of dollars. These brokers made so much money for themselves the unit was nicknamed "Treasure Island."

a reply to: AlaskanDad

You're still talking about individuals.

Rolling Stone is talking about banks.

13 people have been investigated? That's it? Pathetic. Higher ups may have known? Of course they knew! Will they be investigated? Probably not.

a reply to: Swills

BUT...

n a very theoretical, technical sense, the actual process by which banks submit Libor data – – is not competitive per se.

Quote something to support your hypothesis.

One more time:

18 geeks sending numbers to the British Bankers' Association offices in London once every morning

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Good news.

Our progress might be slow but we are starting to clean up the shop.

Soon tax loop holes will slowly be closed and our deficiet paid, the future starting to look brighter here for the middle class.

USA needs to take a lessons out of our book over the past 5 years.

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: AlaskanDad

Only one guy? There were sooooo many people involved in this scandal from all over the world and so far one guy is convicted? Not shocking at all, and a trader at that.

It's usually the low level guys who get screwed in these instances but this time the sentence is a long one versus the usual 2-5 years.

The problem is they are over the world, the UK can only procecuted who is here.

Least it's a positive step in the right direction.

a reply to: AlaskanDad
Swills is right. While the number of people involved in setting LIBOR submissions is relatively small there would be whole teams of traders benefiting on the back of the submissions that they knew to be and even requested to be manipulated.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

What are you talking about and where did you come up with the number 18 now?

Bottom line, this scandal is bigger than 12, 16, or 18 people. I dunno why you arguing this point.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
Odd isn't it? People get less for murder.
Mess with money and you get longer than taking a life.
Good though but many more should have gotten jail.

Our entire economic system is based on upon the concept and faith in money.
May as well waste a man's life as his time.
Time IS money these days.
It makes perfect sense to me, in fact more so because murder only affects one life while something on the order of rigging the Libor rate affects everyone.
Even 12 years is not enough.
Given the insane amounts of money these people make they should be held to a much higher standard.