Two former UBS traders face felony charges

Two former UBS AG traders face felony charges for their alleged roles in the rigging of a key global interest rate, the US Justice Department said.

Tom Alexander William Hayes and Roger Darin were charged with conspiracy in a criminal complaint unsealed today, the Justice Department said. Hayes also was charged with wire fraud and a price-fixing violation for activity with another bank aimed at manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), the department said.

“Make no mistake, for UBS traders, the manipulation of Libor was about getting rich,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said at a news conference in Washington. The US Justice Department said it will seek the extradition of the two traders. Meanwhile in Milan, Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase, UBS AG and Depfa Bank Plc were convicted by a judge for their role in overseeing fraud by their bankers in the sale of derivatives to the city of Milan.

Judge Oscar Magi ordered that about ^90 million ($119.6 million) of assets be seized from the banks and that the firms pay sanctions of ^1 million each.

He also convicted nine bankers of fraud in the ruling.