NZ resident on trial over Libor-fixing

The trials of six men accused of rigging the Libor rate have begun in London.

The ICAP employees, Darrell Read and Colin Goodman, are among a half dozen brokers that are charged with manipulating the rate at a trial that started today in London.

The men, aged between 44 and 53, are the first brokers to be tried over alleged rigging of the London interbank offered rate (Libor), a benchmark for about $450 trillion of financial contracts worldwide, from complex derivatives to student loans.

He told the jury the defendants were rewarded in “various ways”.

The brokers, whose nicknames included “Lord Libor” and “big nose”, were key individuals at Hayes’s favoured United Kingdom brokerages that willingly entered conspiracies to help ensure that Libor rates were false or misleading, Chawla said.

After former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes was convicted in August 2015 and sentenced to 14 years in prison, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Rabobank trader Lee Stewart from working in financial services.

Farr and Gilmour, former RP Martin brokers, are charged with conspiring to rig rates with others, including Hayes and three other former UBS employees, a former Rabobank trader and a former HSBC trader, between August 2006 and December 2009.

Mr Chawla said Mr Hayes recruited staff at interdealer brokers to help him persuade staff at the banks which submitted information to the Yen Libor panel to adjust their submissions in a way that would benefit his trading positions.

The SFO is expected to lay out its case over five days before presenting evidence and expert witnesses to the jury.

The immediate victims of this were the traders on the other side of Mr Hayes’ trades, the court heard.

Meanwhile, Mr Wilkinson was senior to the other ICAP brokers, and is alleged to have been aware of the attempted manipulation, as well as charging Mr Hayes fees for the services and passing that on to his colleagues.

They are accused of asking Libor submitters at other banks to change their submissions, following requests from Mr Hayes.

Read, Wilkinson and Goodman worked for ICAP, Cryan worked for Tullett Prebon, while Gilmour and Farr worked for RP Martin.

The men, who have pleaded not guilty, each face one or two counts of conspiracy to defraud. Farr faces a second count of conspiracy between December 2009 and September 2010 with Hayes and others.

The trial at Southwark Crown Court, London, is not set to finish until the new year.

The six defendants deny all the charges.