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A tiny shift in an interest rate can move oceans of money. We follow that ripple to its breaking point, tracing how Tom Hayes became the public face of LIBOR manipulation, then—years later—won full vindication in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Along the way, we unpack the documents, emails, and internal spreadsheets that allegedly turned “commercially aware” rate submissions into an institutional practice, and the crisis‑era pivot that recast one trader as the perfect fall guy.
We set the stage with a clear explanation of LIBOR’s design, why a bank’s submissions sit within a plausible range, and how that nuance became the hinge of subsequent court decisions. Then we walk through the complaint’s central claims: that UBS policy told staff to consider the bank’s trading positions, that management tracked exposures and directed desired outcomes, and that the bank later secured a non‑prosecution agreement by advancing a narrative of isolated misconduct. The result, according to the lawsuit, was a devastating chain reaction—selective disclosures, missing spreadsheets, and a jury instruction that erased the difference between choosing within a legitimate range and committing fraud.
Hayes’ convictions collapsed after the U.S. Second Circuit and the UK Supreme Court clarified that profit‑motivated choices are not criminal if the submitted rate stays within a genuine range of estimated borrowing costs. With legal ground restored, Hayes now sues UBS for malicious prosecution and indemnification, seeking at least $400 million in damages. We examine the stakes: lifetime earnings lost, health and family fallout, and the broader question of who should bear responsibility when corporate incentives steer behavior and later demand a scapegoat.
If you care about financial regulation, corporate accountability, and how legal narratives are built and unbuilt, this story matters. Listen, share your take, and help us bring more people into the conversation. If this resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and tell a friend what surprised you most.
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Disclaimer: For educational use only, not intended to be legal advice.
Chapters
1. Setting The Stakes And Scope (00:00:00)
2. LIBOR Explained And Why It Mattered (00:02:26)
3. Tom Hayes’ Profile And Vulnerability (00:03:33)
4. From Policy To Practice: The UBS Playbook (00:07:09)
5. Management Approvals And The Paper Trail (00:10:38)
6. Retention Bonuses And Incentives (00:15:25)
7. Crisis Era Pivot And Scapegoating (00:19:30)
8. The Non‑Prosecution Deal And Narrative (00:23:30)
9. Withheld Evidence And Trial Errors (00:27:05)
142 episodes