UK: Jury acquits five brokers in Libor trial

Five ex-brokers accused of helping convicted trader Tom Hayes rig Libor, the benchmark interest rate used in trillions of dollars of derivatives and loans, were acquitted Wednesday by a London jury, which is still deliberating charges against a sixth.

Noel Cryan, 50, who worked at Tullett Prebon Plc in London, Colin Goodman, 54, and Danny Wilkinson, 49, formerly of ICAP Plc, and RP Martin Holdings Ltd.’s Terry Farr, 44, and James Gilmour, 50, were found not guilty and released. The jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on ICAP’s Darrell Read, 50, and was sent home to come back Thursday to discuss the remaining charge. The jury took about a day to find the others not guilty.

The verdict marks the culmination of a sprawling and complex four-month trial that was postponed for several days when one of the defendants, Wilkinson, fell ill. Several of the men cried as the verdicts were read out. Farr burst from the dock and climbed the stairs to embrace his wife and son.

“It’s always been a surprise and disappointment that these people were seen as front and center when they weren’t even bankers,” said Matthew Frankland, a lawyer for Wilkinson. “If what the SFO says is true, it’s rather shocking that more senior people aren’t being prosecuted.”

Full content: New York Post

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