Business Crime team secures acquittal in the SFO investigation into EURIBOR

Ian Ryan and Melanie Zwennes secured the acquittal of Achim Kraemer, a former Deutsche Bank trader who was charged by the Serious Fraud Office with conspiracy to manipulate EURIBOR between January 2005 and December 2009.

Mr Kraemer was charged in 2015 and his trial was delayed several times before it eventually began in April 2018 at Southwark Crown Court. Before the trial began Christian Bittar, an ex-Deutsche Bank trader, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Philippe Moryoussef, an ex-Barclays trader, failed to attend court and was tried in his absence and found guilty. Carlo Palombo, Colin Bermingham and Sisse Bohart (all ex-Barclays) were also tried and the jury in their case failed to reach a verdict.

Partner Ian Ryan commented:

"The preparation for the trial took over 2 years, with a vast amount of material served by the SFO. The case was full of different technical challenges including disclosure issues, case strategy decisions, German legal issues, jurisdictional issues, obtaining evidence from abroad, witness management, legal argument, and finding the right assistance from a financial service expert who understood Euribor.

It was a superb team effort and my thanks go to all including Kevin Robinson, Elizabeth Campbell, Kate Parker, Claire Mawer and Lian Poleykett. 

I would also like to extend our gratitude to counsel Duncan Penny QC of 6KBW College Hill and Eleanor Sanderson of 2 Bedford Row for their superb work on the case"