SFO Completes Review of LIBOR Convictions After Supreme Court Ruling, Declines to Seek Retrials for Hayes and Palombo

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has completed its review of all convictions that could be affected by the Supreme Court's ruling in R v Hayes and R v Palombo, the landmark LIBOR (London Inter-bank Offered Rate) and EURIBOR (Euro Inter-bank Offered Rate) manipulation cases. The Supreme Court found that the jury directions given at both trials were legally incorrect, rendering the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo unsafe. The SFO confirmed in early October that it will not seek a retrial, citing factors including that both defendants have already served prison sentences. The review extended to five further defendants, Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef, and Colin Bermingham, whose jury directions may also have been affected. On 7 October 2026, the Court of Appeal overturned all five convictions after the SFO did not oppose their appeals. Peter Johnson's guilty-plea conviction has been assessed as safe. Christian Bittar, who also pleaded guilty, is separately pursuing his own appeal against his conviction, which the SFO is contesting; a hearing is expected this week. The LIBOR and EURIBOR rates affected the value of hundreds of trillions of dollars' worth of financial products globally, touching ordinary pensions, mortgages and savings. The SFO's original investigation produced nine convictions of senior bankers, with seven found guilty by juries and two via guilty pleas. The original cases spanned more than a decade of investigation and prosecution, making the Supreme Court's ruling one of the most significant reappraisals of UK financial crime prosecutions in recent memory.

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