![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/us-throws-out-charges-against-interest-rate-rigger/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/127429734_timhayes.jpg&description=Image source, Tom HayesImage caption, Tom Hayes holding the US court document dismissing charges against himThe United States has thrown out criminal charges it brought against the first trader to be jailed for "rigging" interest rates. Former UBS trader Tom Hayes was the first of 38 people to be prosecuted.He was charged in both the US and the UK, tried in London in 2015 and sentenced to 14 years, reduced on appeal to 11.But earlier this year, US courts ruled that the prosecutions were misconceived.Tom Hayes told the BBC: "I'm ecstatic to get this decision. It feels almost like I'm in a dream."For Mr Hayes, who has Asperger's syndrome, it brings to an end a decade-long ordeal facing criminal charges brought by the US Department of Justice. However, he is still struggling to overturn his conviction in the UK on the same evidence. "After years of tireless work by my solicitor Karen Todner, the Department of Justice in the US have now dismissed my charges in their entirety, acknowledging the flawed legal theory pursued in the cases of so called Libor 'rigging'," Mr Hayes said in an exclusive interview with the BBC. "I am pleased to end the 10-year international pursuit of my legal activity. It is now time for the UK to examine the convictions of all traders. It is now the sole jurisdiction that deems the conduct criminal."Tom Hayes served his full jail tariff in the UK of five and a half years and was released in 2021.What traders were accused of, the US court decided, did not in fact break any rules or laws, raising serious questions about the safety of convictions for traders found guilty in nine trials for "rigging" interest rates on both sides of the Atlantic.The interest rate traders were accused of manipulating was Libor, the benchmark interest rate that tracks the cost of borrowing cash.What the FTSE or Dow Jones are to share prices, Libor is to interest rates - an index that tracked the cost of borrowing cash between the banks.For the past 35 years, it has bee){kind=link}
The United States has thrown out criminal charges it brought against the first trader to be jailed for “rigging” interest rates.
Former UBS trader Tom Hayes was the first of 38 people to be prosecuted.
He was charged in both the US and the UK, tried in London in 2015 and sentenced to 14 years, reduced on appeal to 11.
But earlier this year, US courts ruled that the prosecutions were misconceived.
Tom Hayes told the BBC: “I’m ecstatic to get this decision. It feels almost like I’m in a dream.”