19 Jun 2013

Former trader charged over rate rigging

7:28 am on 19 June 2013

Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes has been charged by the Serious Fraud Office in Britain in connection with its investigation into the rate-rigging manipulation of Libor last year.

Mr Hayes, 33, will appear before Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday on eight charges of conspiracy to defraud.

However, it is unclear whether the charges related to his time at Swiss bank UBS or Citigroup.

The BBC reports these are the first criminal charges related to Libor.

Mr Hayes, who is a British citizen, has previously denied any wrongdoing. He was arrested last year.

Last year, Barclays was fined £290 million by British and US regulatory agencies for manipulation of

Libor and Euribor interbank rates between 2005 - 2009.

The BBC reports several other banks have also been implicated in the scandal. They were found to have colluded in fixing the Libor rate in order to boost the profits of traders prior to the financial crisis.