Four former bankers who had their convictions for manipulating interest rates were recently cleared to return to work in the financial sector after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifted bans that had prevented them from being employed in finance. The FCA’s decision came days after the Court of Appeal quashed their convictions related to allegations of rigging the Libor and Euribor benchmarks, which were central to the global financial system before Libor's eventual discontinuation.

The former traders—Colin Bermingham, Philippe Moryoussef, Jonathan Mathew, and Christian Bittar—faced prison sentences following their original convictions. Bermingham, Moryoussef, and Mathew had been employed by Barclays, while Bittar was a trader at Deutsche Bank. Their bans had been imposed by the FCA after their convictions, effectively barring them from future work in the City of London.

The overturning of these convictions marks a significant development in a long-running legal saga that has seen the unravelling of multiple cases linked to allegations of benchmark manipulation. The Court of Appeal ruling follows a 2025 Supreme Court decision that found juries in these trials had been misdirected, leading to the quashing of the convictions of two other notable traders, Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo. In light of these rulings, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which led the prosecutions, acknowledged that some of the previous convictions might have been unsafe, and it did not oppose the appeals in the recent cases.

The FCA announced it would take no further action against the four men concerning these matters, allowing them to resume professional activities within the sector. However, both Moryoussef and Mathew expressed frustration over the lengthy legal process. Moryoussef, who fled to France during the proceedings—where authorities declined to extradite him on the grounds that Euribor rigging was not a crime there—highlighted the severe personal and professional consequences of the prolonged ban. Mathew questioned the regulator's earlier rigorous pursuit, noting that the FCA initially sought a lifetime ban and a heavy fine.

Christian Bittar, whose conviction was originally based on a guilty plea—an uncommon situation in this context—described the lifting of his ban as the conclusion of a 15-year legal struggle. The recent court decisions have overturned six of the nine initial convictions related to the interest rate rigging cases; the remaining individual, Peter Johnson, has maintained his conviction and is appealing.

The developments pose challenges for the SFO, which has seen a significant erosion of its previous prosecutorial victories over these high-profile cases. Meanwhile, two other former Barclays traders, Alex Pabon and Jay Merchant—who were also convicted but never banned by the FCA due to their roles in New York—had their convictions overturned earlier this month.

This series of legal reversals highlights the complex legal and regulatory environment surrounding benchmark manipulation cases, reflecting ongoing debates over individual accountability versus systemic banking practices leading up to and during the 2008 financial crisis.