A former City of London banker, Christian Bittar, has successfully had his conviction for manipulating interest rates overturned by the courts. This ruling marks the eighth time such a conviction has been quashed in the ongoing legal fallout from the Euribor scandal, arriving just days after five other former banking professionals were acquitted of similar charges.
Bittar, who previously held a trading position at Deutsche Bank, was originally found guilty in 2018 of conspiracy to defraud. His case is part of a broader re-examination of past convictions related to the rigging of benchmark interest rates, which has seen multiple individuals clear their names in recent weeks.
While I respect his right to appeal, it feels like the perpetrators are walking free. Justice for the victims of the financial crisis seems elusive here.
It is surprising how many of these convictions are being quashed so recently. Eight people now, and the trend shows no sign of stopping.
I’m confused. Is the Euribor rigging scandal just collapsing because of legal technicalities, or is the original evidence actually weak?
Another conviction overturned? This case was supposed to be straightforward. Something feels deeply wrong with how these trials are handled now.