"Global LIBOR Scapegoat" Turns To Public Crowdfunding To Fund Appeal
By Tyler Durden
While UBS agreed to pay $1.5 billion to quickly settle charges that the bank manipulated LIBOR, trader Tom “Libor is too high, ‘cos I’ve kept it artificially high” Hayes wasn’t so lucky however. Alas, Hayes’ pockets weren’t that deep and he was the scapegoat UBS chose to offer up to the masses in the wake of the scandal, eventually being found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in jail (later reduced to 11 years).
Hayes, who was the first individual convicted at trial for manipulating what until recently was the world’s most important rate, is now looking to the generosity of the public to help fund his appeal. As Bloomberg reports, the 36 year-old has opened a Fundrazr page in hopes of raising £150,000 enough money to pay for an appeal through with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent organization set up to investigate suspected miscarriages of justice in U.K. courts. According to his lawyer Karen Todner, “Tom’s family are now in possession of fresh evidence, some of which Tom requested in his trial but which UBS and the prosecution did not supply. We believe Tom has a strong case, which our submission to the CCRC will demonstrate.”
Given the fact that evidence was presented showing UBS actually had a “guide to publishing Libor rates” during his trial and he was still convicted, we suspect that nothing will be able to help the former trader at this point. The fund has raised £3,635, although we’re going to go out on a limb and say the trader who cost people and firms a lot of money with his rigging activities, won’t win much of sympathy in the court of public opinion, although there is a possibility some of his former superiors who got away scott-free thanks to his incarceration may feel generous and decide to “tip” him. Anonymously of course.
Source: "Global LIBOR Scapegoat" Turns To Public Crowdfunding To Fund Appeal
