Jailed Libor trader Tom Hayes could lose his home
Tom Hayes, the former star trader jailed for market rigging, could lose his home after being ordered to repay almost £880,000, deemed to be the proceeds of the crime.
The judge indicated that the confiscation order could force Hayes to sell his family's home. The Serious Fraud Office had targeted more than £2m of his assets, but described the order as "substantial". Last year Hayes was jailed for 11 years for manipulating the Libor rate. He was convicted an eight counts of conspiracy to defraud while working for UBS and Citigroup during the period between 2006 and 2010. In his court ruling judge Judge Jeremy Cooke said: "I am satisfied that the defendant is unable to pay the full amount immediately and therefore order that whatever cannot be paid immediately to be paid within 3 months." He added that if Hayes could only pay off the amount by selling his house, then the court could extend that deadline. The court order identified several items that could used to pay off the order, including: If Hayes fails to meet the terms of the confiscation order, then he faces another three years in jail. Market rigging Hayes's trading activities were based on Libor - the London interbank offered rate - an interest rate used by banks around the world to set the price of financial products worth trillions of pounds. The ability to organise even minor movements in the rate had the potential to generate bumper profits for a trader. During Hayes's trial, jurors were told that he promised to pay a broker up to $100,000 to keep the Libor rate "as low as possible". The court heard that manipulating the Libor rate was so commonplace that an offer of a Mars bar could get it changed. In January six City brokers were cleared of helping Hayes rig Libor. 'Substantial' order Commenting on today's court order, Mark Thompson, head of the SFO's Proceeds of Crime Division, said: "The court acknowledged the challenges of quantifying the benefit from crime in this case. "The SFO provided the court with all the available information and the outcome is a substantial confiscation order, which Mr Hayes will need to satisfy or face a further period of imprisonment."