EURIBOR

The SFO issued criminal proceedings against 11 individuals accused of manipulating the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR).

Two former EURIBOR traders were convicted of conspiracy to defraud following a trial in 2018.

Christian Bittar, former Principle Trader at Deutsche Bank, pleaded guilty on 2 March 2018. A court order restricting reporting of the plea was lifted on 6 March 2018. He was sentenced to five years, four months imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay the SFO’s full costs of £799,957 and a confiscation order of £2.5m.

Philippe Moryoussef, formerly of Barclays Bank, was found guilty on 29 June 2018 by a jury. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. On 20 December 2018, Moryoussef was ordered by the court to pay a confiscation order of £77,354.26 within three months, or face a further custodial sentence of 3 years.

Former Deutsche Bank employee Achim Kraemer, was found not guilty on 29 June 2018 by a jury.

The jury could not reach verdicts on three other defendants, Carlo Palombo, Colin Bermingham and Sisse Bohart, all formerly of Barclays Bank. The SFO sought a retrial and this began on 14 January 2019.

Carlo Palombo was convicted and Sisse Bohart was acquitted by a jury on 26 March 2019. Colin Bermingham was convicted on 28 March 2019.

Palombo and Bermingham were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 1 April 2019 to 4 and 5 years respectively. On 5 March 2020, Bermingham was ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £300,000 and Palombo to pay costs of £725,000. Palombo was also ordered to pay a confiscation order of £182,000 or face a 30 month default sentence.

Palombo and Bermingham appealed against their conviction, sentence and costs orders. This appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 9 December 2020.

The following individuals declined to appear at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 January 2016.

Deutsche Bank employees:

·         Andreas Hauschild

·         Joerg Vogt

·         Ardalan Gharagozlou

·         Kai-Uwe Kappauf

Societe Generale Employee:

·         Stephane Esper

The SFO secured European Arrest Warrants against these five individuals at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in February 2016. Extradition was refused by the French and German courts.

Andreas Hauschild was later arrested in Italy and extraditied to the UK to stand trial. He was acquitted by a jury on 4 July 2019.

On 10 June 2020, the SFO confirmed that it had withdrawn the European Arrest Warrants against Joerg Vogt, Ardalan Gharagozlou, Kai-Uwe Kappauf and Stephane Esper. The investigations in relation to these individuals are now closed.

The investigation into EURIBOR was instigated as a result of the SFO’s broader investigation of the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).