STORY
The Court of Appeal has overturned Christian Bittar’s conviction for conspiracy to defraud, the Serious Fraud Office confirmed on 9 October. Bittar had previously pleaded guilty in a case concerning the EURIBOR benchmark interest rate. The SFO said it had argued for a different outcome but respected the court’s decision.
The ruling follows successful appeals by seven other defendants in LIBOR and EURIBOR cases. The Supreme Court overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo after finding that juries had received incorrect legal directions. On 7 October, the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham, whose appeals the SFO did not oppose.
The SFO had previously reviewed Bittar’s case and concluded that his conviction was safe. It decided against seeking retrials of Hayes and Palombo, citing public interest considerations including that they had already served prison sentences. Following the latest ruling, SFO Head of Division Jason Williams reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to tackling complex fraud, bribery and corruption.