Rubbish Check
ABC News Business · 8 October 2026
source“5 traders jailed for rigging key interest rates have their convictions quashed”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates ABC News Business's headline on the Libor traders' quashed convictions a 2/10 because the Court of Appeal ruling, the identical legal basis to the July 2025 Supreme Court precedent, and the SFO's non-opposition are all accurately reflected, with only the omission of "fraud" convictions specifically (versus interest-rate rigging broadly) as a minor softening.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline states exactly what happened: the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions, and the article's body backs every element of that claim with no spin on either side. The only nitpick is that "rigging key interest rates" slightly broadens what were specifically fraud convictions tied to Libor/Euribor submissions, but this is a reasonable plain-English shorthand that doesn't mislead on the substance.
What actually happened
The Court of Appeal quashed the fraud convictions of five former Barclays traders, Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham, who had been sentenced between 2016 and 2019 for manipulating Libor and Euribor. The reversal follows a July 2025 UK Supreme Court ruling that quashed two other traders' convictions on the grounds that trial judges gave juries inaccurate instructions. Because the five traders' juries received near-identical instructions, their lawyers argued, and the Serious Fraud Office did not oppose, that their convictions were equally unsafe.
Key facts
- The Court of Appeal threw out the fraud convictions of former Barclays employees Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham, sentenced between 2016 and 2019.
- In July 2025, the UK Supreme Court quashed the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, ruling that inaccurate jury instructions made their trials unfair.
- Lawyers for the five others argued their juries received almost identical instructions, and the Serious Fraud Office said it would not seek retrials for Hayes and Palombo and did not oppose the five other appeals.
- The SFO's original investigation, begun in 2012, ultimately led to the conviction of nine bankers and the acquittal of 11 others.
- Libor and Euribor have since been phased out, in part because they were seen as worsening the financial crisis.
What to watch for
- Whether the SFO pursues any residual cases from the original nine convictions not yet addressed by appeal.
- Any civil or reputational fallout for Barclays given the concentration of its former staff among the exonerated.
- Follow-up commentary on whether flawed jury directions cast doubt on the broader 2012-era Libor prosecution framework.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
