Tom Hayes, the former trader yesterday found guilty over Libor manipulation, may have been the only man in the dock at Southwark Crown Court but he was never the only one being judged.
With his conviction the UK’s Serious Fraud Office can claim a significant victory in a financial crime investigation. The case — a world first in the sprawling Libor scandal — was always going to be high-stakes for the SFO. The agency has risked its reputation, relationship with its transatlantic counterparts and perhaps even its future on securing a successful prosecution of Hayes.
A jury at Southwark Crown Count, after deliberating for a week, found the 35-year-old former UBS and Citigroup trader guilty of conspiring to manipulate yen Libor.