Pabon, Alex

On 29 January 2026, the convictions of five city traders, related to the setting of exchange rates, were sent back to the courts by the CCRC.

The referrals followed the Supreme Court decision the previous summer to quash the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo related to LIBOR and EURIBOR. 

The CCRC received applications from the five men in August 2025, following the Supreme Court decision which was handed down in July 2025.  

LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) is the average interest rate that leading banks in London estimate they would be charged when borrowing from other banks. EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) is a similar reference rate for Euro zone banks. 

Alex Pabon, Jay Vijay Merchant and Jonathan Mathew were convicted of conspiracy to defraud in 2016 at Southwark Crown Court and were given prison sentences ranging from two to six and a half years. 

Mr Pabon and Mr Merchant were LIBOR traders based in New York. Mr Mathew was a LIBOR submitter and junior trader based in London. 

Philippe Moryoussef was a senior trader based in London and was convicted of conspiracy to defraud in 2018 at Southwark Crown Court. He was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.  

Colin Bermingham was also based in London and was responsible for making Barclays’ daily EURIBOR submissions. He was convicted in 2019 and given a five-year prison sentence. Mr Bermingham was convicted alongside Carlo Palombo. 

In their applications to the CCRC Mr Pabon, Mr Merchant and Mr Mathew submitted that the trial judge adopted and replicated legal directions which were found to be wrong, and this undermined the safety of their convictions. The CCRC also believed the defendants were deprived of the opportunity to have their defence cases left to the jury.   

In the submissions of both Mr Moryoussef and Mr Bermingham, they argued there were the same misdirections and errors of law as those identified by the Supreme Court with Mr Palombo, and there was no sensible basis to distinguish the cases. 

After analysing the submissions in all five cases and reviewing the directions in the context of the Supreme Court judgment, the CCRC determined there was no distinguishing factor between these cases and the cases of Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo, and the jury misdirection and legal errors undermined the safety of all the convictions. 

Tom Hayes’ and Carlo Palombo’s cases were referred to the Court of Appeal by the CCRC in July 2023.  

In March 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld both Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo’s convictions. The case was subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which found that Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo’s convictions could not stand and overturned them.