James Waddington KC appeared for the Serious Fraud Office in the appeal by Carlo Palombo against his conviction for conspiracy to defraud. The appeal was heard together with that of Tom Hayes on 14^th, 15^th and 18^th March 2024. The cases concerned the manipulation by derivatives traders at major banks of the EURIBOR and LIBOR benchmark interest rates. Judgment was handed down on 27^th March 2024.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission had referred the cases to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) on the ground that there was a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would prefer the findings of the US Court of Appeals Second Circuit in a separate case regarding the definition and proper operation of LIBOR (and, by extension of reasoning, EURIBOR) to five previous and binding decisions of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. The appeal required the Court to address, among other things, the argument of whether the benchmarks allowed traders to factor in their own profits when taking part in the interest rate-setting process. The appeals failed.

https://www.judiciary.uk/judgment-types/judgment/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tom-hayes-court-of-appeal-ruling-carlos-palombo-gppgzskj2