Tom Hayes Libor trial: Senior UBS staff knew about rigging'

The former trader Tom Hayes claimed senior bosses at UBS knew about Libor rigging, a court has heard.

A jury at Southwark crown court was read extracts from interviews between the 35-year-old, who is accused over rigging benchmark rates, and the Serious Fraud Office.

A summary of his interview said: “The awareness of Libor manipulation at UBS went pretty high up. The solvency manipulation came from on high with messages coming down from group treasury and from the board.” It continued: “Senior management were keen to use Libor to effectively lie about their cost of borrowing and portray a sense of strength.”

Mr Hayes told the SFO that UBS bosses, including the former co-chief executive of its investment bank, Carsten Kengeter, had attended at least one meeting where traders commonly discussed Libor rates and where they wanted them set, the court heard.

Mr Hayes denies eight charges of conspiring to manipulate the benchmark Libor interest rates used to value trillions of dollars of financial securities globally. The allegations cover a period from 2006 to 2010, when he worked for UBS and Citigroup.

The court also heard about concerns Mr Hayes’ legal team had had about their client being extradicted to the US, which was also investigating his alleged role in rigging Libor. A summary by the SFO said: “He has demonstrated that he is talkative and open but [his lawyer] fears that he will feel inhibited by the Department of Justice’s presence unless they give an assurance that … he is to be prosecuted in the UK only.”

The trial continues.