Ex-Barclays bankers jailed for rigging interest rates

Two former Barclays bankers have been jailed for a total of nine years for rigging a global interest rate system at the height of the financial crisis.

A jury in London sentenced Colin Bermingham, 62, a senior rate submitter, to five years.

Carlo Palombo, a 40-year-old former derivatives trader, got a four-year term.

The pair were found guilty of conspiring to rig Euribor interest rates – a benchmark used by banks to determine the cost of lending to each other.

These rates then underpin wider financial products including mortgage rates, savings rates and loans.

Palombo was said by his lawyer to be “devastated” and needed time to come to terms with the court’s decision before making any appeal.

Bermingham’s legal team had no immediate comment.

The two had denied any wrongdoing.

Bermingham, who joined Barclays at 18, said he did not believe he had ever falsely submitted an interest rate while Palombo, who joined the bank in his early 20s, claimed he thought it was a “perfectly legitimate practice” until it was banned in 2009 as a US investigation gathered steam.

Prosecutors said the pair conspired to defraud by dishonestly, manipulating Euribor between January 2005 and December 2009.

Palombo earned £5.4m and Bermingham £3.5m during the same period.

Both will face a further hearing to determine costs and proceeds of criminal action.

The men were convicted at Southwark Crown Court in a re-trial after a previous jury was unable to reach a verdict.

It is the sixth prosecution brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after a near-seven year criminal investigation.

Head of the SFO Lisa Osofsky said: “These men deliberately undermined the integrity of the financial system to line their pockets and advance the interests of their employers.

“We are committed to tracking down and bringing to justice those who defraud others and abuse the system.”

A third Barclays banker, Sisse Bohart, 41, was acquitted last week.

The SFO has prosecuted five men and one woman over Euribor rigging, including former Deutsche Bank star trader Christian Bittar, who was one of the world’s best-paid at more than £57m over the indictment period.

Eleven banks and brokerages have also been fined a total of $9bn to settle similar allegations, including Barclays which paid a $453m penalty in 2012.

(c) Sky News 2019: Ex-Barclays bankers jailed for rigging interest rates