Business · Companies · 2 days ago
Court overturns former Deutsche Bank trader’s interest-rate rigging conviction
The UK Court of Appeal has overturned Christian Bittar’s conviction for manipulating Euribor, a benchmark interest rate used by banks.
Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader, was convicted in 2018 and served nearly two years in prison.
The decision follows the overturning of convictions against five former Barclays traders earlier this week.
A UK Supreme Court ruling last year, which overturned convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo after finding problems with the trials, opened the way for other traders to appeal.
Euribor and Libor helped shape borrowing costs for mortgages, pensions, savings and financial products.
With Bittar’s case, 18 of 19 traders convicted in the UK and US cases have now been acquitted, according to the BBC.
Peter Johnson, the only former trader still convicted, has applied to appeal.
The UK Court of Appeal quashed former Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar’s conviction for conspiracy to defraud over the manipulation of Euribor.
Bittar was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to prison; he watched the appeal proceedings by video link from Switzerland, according to the BBC.
The ruling followed the overturning earlier in the week of convictions against five former Barclays traders.
The appeals followed a UK Supreme Court ruling that overturned the convictions of former traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo.
The Serious Fraud Office contested Bittar’s appeal, saying it considered his conviction safe, but said it respected the court’s decision.
The articles differ in how they describe the number of traders convicted and later cleared: the BBC says 18 of 19 convicted traders have now been acquitted, while the Guardian says nine bankers received fraud convictions.
- Who
- Christian Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader
- What
- The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction for conspiracy to defraud over Euribor rate manipulation.
- When
- Friday, 9 October 2026
- Where
- The UK Court of Appeal
- Why
- The court quashed the conviction following Bittar’s appeal; the articles do not state the court’s specific reasoning in his case.
Christian Bittar and his representatives
Serious Fraud Office
Whether the conviction should stand
Christian Bittar and his representatives
Bittar appealed his conviction, and his lawyer Ben Rose criticised the SFO’s handling of fair-trial duties.
Serious Fraud Office
The SFO argued that Bittar’s conviction was safe and sought a different outcome.
Response to the ruling
Christian Bittar and his representatives
Bittar said the ruling recognised the injustice he and others had suffered.
Serious Fraud Office
The SFO said it respected the court’s decision and remained committed to tackling complex fraud, bribery and corruption.
I have waited a very, very long time for this day.
Finally the injustice of what I and others suffered has been recognised.
We argued for a different outcome but respect the court’s decision in relation to Christian Bittar.
scandal that the SFO has consistently failed to uphold its duty to ensure that these trials are fair
Bittar was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced to prison.
The UK Supreme Court overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, prompting other traders to challenge their convictions.
The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of five former Barclays traders.
The Court of Appeal quashed Bittar’s conviction.
Peter Johnson, the remaining convicted trader identified in the articles, had applied to appeal his conviction.
- Bittar’s former employer
- Deutsche Bank
- Bittar conviction
- 2018
- Benchmark rate
- Euribor
- Former Barclays traders cleared earlier that week
- Five
- Remaining convicted trader identified by the BBC
- Peter Johnson, formerly of Barclays
Sources
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