Tom Hayes recruited accomplices to manipulate Libor, court told
Former UBS and Citi trader Tom Hayes spent years recruiting other bankers and brokers to help him manipulate Libor submissions, prosecutors claimed yesterday.
Hayes, the first trader to face accusations in front of a jury, denies eight charges of conspiracy to defraud.
Southwark Crown Court yesterday heard that he tried to recruit his step-brother, who works at HSBC, into the scheme. But recordings played to the jury show he later back-tracked on the request that his relative ask HSBC’s Libor submitters to help by altering the rates.
The Serious Fraud Office believes Hayes arranged for manipulated interest rate numbers to be submitted into the Libor process from 2006 to 2010, in an attempt to alter the level of the inter-bank benchmark and so boost his trading profits.
Prosecuting lawyer Mukul Chawla said that some brokers helped the scheme by emailing suggested levels for submissions to dozens of market participants.
The former trader’s defence team have yet to present their case in court. The trial is scheduled to take between 10 and 12 weeks.
Other brokers and traders are also set to face court, but cannot currently be identified for legal reasons.