[JURIST] Former UK bank trader Tom Hayes [BBC profile] was convicted Monday of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud. Following a unanimous jury verdict, Judge Jeremy Cooke [official profile] sentenced Hayes to 14 years in prison for attempting to rig the London interbank offered rate (Libor) [WSJ market data]. Hayes, a former Citibank and UBS [official website] trader, received the first criminal conviction of an individual manipulating the rate benchmark, an offense to which several big banks have pleaded guilty. Hayes manipulated Libor [BBC report] from 2006 to 2010, an act he claims was industry standard and that his bosses were complicit in. Prosecutors argued that Hayes headed an international scheme to manipulate the rating system, which helps set interest rates for mortgages and loans nationwide. U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office [official website] brought charges against Hayes, and the office’s director characterizes prosecution of Libor-related offenses as top priority.

Late in 2012, the US Department of Justice announced [JURIST report] criminal charges against Hayes and fellow trader Roger Darin for allegedly helping UBS illegally manipulate foreign interest rates. UBS [JURIST news archive] has been involved in many legal disputes in recent years. In September 2012 the US Internal Revenue Service awarded $104 million [JURIST report] to a former UBS banker for his role in uncovering that UBS helped American clients shelter assets from US tax liability. In July 2011 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ruled [JURIST report] that the Swiss government was correct in ordering UBS to disclose information to the US on more than 250 of the bank’s clients. In July 2010 a Swiss court announced [JURIST report] that an agreement with the US, allowing UBS to disclose account information of clients suspected by the US government of tax evasion, is binding.