Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes, whose conviction in the global Libor-rigging scandal was quashed earlier this year, has sued for $400 million, UBS claiming the Swiss bank has framed him to cover up senior management.
News. Az stated, citing Reuters, that in a complaint submitted to the Connecticut state court, Hayes alleges that UBS “maliciously prosecuted” him by presenting him as the “evil mastermind” in Libor rigging a scheme he says enabled the bank to escape criminal charges and pay $1.5 billion in regulatory penalties in 2012.
In a statement, Hayes said, “It has taken me over a decade to overturn my wrongful conviction and clear my name. My legal team are now rightfully holding UBS to account for scapegoating me.”
UBS refused to comment on the suit that was filed on October 23 and a case that Hayes subsequently submitted in a New York state court.
The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) again determined over $300 trillion of financial products in the world – credit cards, student loans, and mortgages.
Hayes was convicted in 2015 of conspiracy to defraud through the manipulation of the benchmark, where he received approximately half of an 11-year sentence, released in 2021.
The case was appealed by the UK Supreme Court in July 2025, which found that the trial judge had misled the jury by incorrectly claiming that banks were not allowed to factor in their commercial interests in submitting Libor rates.
The court claimed error “undermined the fairness” of the trial.
It had formally ended Libor in 2022, after world banks had paid nearly $9 billion in fines, and 19 traders had faced prosecution in related cases in the UK and the U.S.
As Hayes turned 46, he claims that UBS ruined his career and reputation and inflicted “emotional and physical harm.” He is pursuing punitive damages along with compensation.
