Two former Barclays bankers acquitted of Libor-rigging charges after retrial

Stylianos Contogoulas, 44, and Ryan Michael Reich, 34, were acquitted of conspiracy to defraud following the retrial at Southwark Crown Court

Former Barclays trader Ryan Reich leaves Southwark Crown Court in London, Britain, 6 April, 2017 (Reuters)

Two former Barclays bankers have been cleared by jurors over allegations they plotted to rig Libor, the mechanism used to set interest rates.

Stylianos Contogoulas, 44, and Ryan Michael Reich, 34, were acquitted of conspiracy to defraud following the retrial at Southwark Crown Court.

The pair denied any involvement in manipulating the interbank lending rate at the heart of the banking scandal.

The case was brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

In a statement following his acquittal, Mr Reich said: "For the last eight years, I have consistently explained that I acted appropriately, honestly, and in accordance with the rules at the time. I am relieved and delighted to have been acquitted.

"I am saddened that it has taken so long to expose the case against me, a junior trader just doing my job over a decade ago, as being totally without foundation.

"It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the facts. I cannot help but note that this trial was the first time that any jury has actually been asked to consider whether as a matter of fact any trader deliberately broke the rules.

"They (the jurors) rapidly rejected the SFO's case."

Four men - Jonathan James Mathew, Jay Vijay Merchant, Alex Pabon and Peter Johnson - were jailed in July last year for their roles in the fraud.

PA