Five brokers cleared over Libor fixing charges

Updated

Five brokers accused of trying to fix the Libor rates have been cleared.

Prosecutors had alleged the men conspired with a currency trader to fix Libor rates in exchange for offers of treats like takeaway curries and drinks.

But after an almost four-month trial, a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court cleared five of the six men on all counts.

Noel Cryan, 49, of Chislehurst, Kent; Danny Wilkinson, 48, of Hornchurch, Essex; Colin Goodman, 53, of Epsom, Surrey; James Gilmour, 50 of Benfleet, Essex; and Terry Farr, 44, of Southend-on-Sea in Essex - have all been cleared of conspiracy to defraud by trying to manipulate the Libor rate linked to the Yen.

The jury has been instructed to continue deliberations on Thursday morning in relation to one count against Darrell Read, 50, of Wellington, New Zealand.

The men had been accused of helping trader Tom Hayes manipulate the Libor rate over a period of four years.

Hayes, who was convicted of conspiracy to defraud earlier this year, repeatedly asked them via instant messages and emails for help getting the Libor rates set in his favour, the court had heard.

Libor is the term for benchmark rates which underpin hundreds of trillions of pounds of contracts, from mortgages to corporate lending.

A statement released by solicitors acting for Mr Goodman, who the trial heard had been known by the nickname Lord Libor, said the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) case had been "a complete shambles".

The statement said: "Mr Colin Goodman (Lord Libor) is very grateful to the jury for throwing out this allegation in one day despite the fact that the trial lasted three and a half months.

"We can only reiterate what his counsel told the jury, that the SFO case was a complete shambles and should never have been brought."

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