Criminal Cases Review Commission refers trader convictions back to Court of Appeal

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the convictions of five traders back to the Court of Appeal after determining that there was ‘no distinguishing factor’ between those cases and two others whose convictions were later quashed in the Supreme Court.

Between 2016 and 2019, Alex Pabon, Jay Vijay Merchant,  Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham received convictions ranging from 2 to 8 years related to conspiracy to defraud and the setting of LIBOR and EURIBOR exchange rates.

The five men applied to the CCRC in August following the Supreme Court decision in the case of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo. The CRRC submits that their respective trial judgers adopted and replicated legal directions which have been found to be wrong, therefore undermining the safety of their convictions. The CCRC also believes that the defendants were deprived of the opportunity to have their defence cases left to the jury.