A former City trader, Christian Bittar, has had his fraud conviction for rigging Euribor interest rates overturned by the Court of Appeal. Mr Bittar, previously a trader at Deutsche Bank, had served five years in prison for his role in rigging the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) in the period leading up to the financial crisis.
Lord Justice Edis stated to the court on Friday that the conviction had been quashed, with reasons to be provided at a later date. Mr Bittar had previously pleaded guilty to the charge.
This decision follows a Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned similar convictions for former UBS trader Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, formerly of Barclays. The Supreme Court found that they had been "deprived" of a fair trial due to "inaccurate and unfair" directions given to juries by judges.
Mr Bittar claimed in his appeal that he had pleaded guilty on an incorrect legal basis. His appeal was brought after the Supreme Court's decision regarding Hayes and Palombo.
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, five other former City traders – Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon, and Colin Bermingham – also had their fraud convictions for rigging Libor and Euribor interest rates overturned by the Court of Appeal. These five individuals, who had worked at Barclays, had pleaded not guilty and had served jail-time.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred these cases to the court in January. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought the original prosecutions, had stated it would not seek a retrial against Hayes and Palombo.
Mr Bittar is the last of a group of former traders to have their appeals heard. However, Lord Justice Edis confirmed that Peter Johnson, formerly of Barclays and an original whistleblower in the rates-rigging scandal, is in the early stages of an appeal. Mr Johnson, like Mr Bittar, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.