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Court of Appeal quashes ex-Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar's Euribor conviction

London's Court of Appeal on Friday quashed the Euribor rate-rigging conviction of former Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar, who had pleaded guilty. The court said it will give written reasons later; the Serious Fraud Office said it respects the decision.

2 outlets · 0L · 0C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: City A.M.
Image: Arab News

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The story, neutrally told

Right · 2The Court of Appeal in London on Friday 9 October 2026 quashed the conviction of Christian Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader convicted of rigging Euribor, the Euro Interbank Offered Rate. Right · 1Lord Justice Edis told the court: "For reasons we will set out at a later date, this conviction has been quashed." Right · 2Bittar pleaded guilty in 2018 and was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, according to Reuters; City A.M. says he served five years.

Right · 1City A.M. reports that Bittar brought his appeal after the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, claiming he had pleaded guilty on the wrong legal basis. Right · 1Reuters says he is the first person convicted of manipulating Euribor or Libor to have a conviction overturned after a guilty plea. Right · 2The ruling follows Wednesday's Court of Appeal decision overturning the convictions of five former Barclays traders (Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon and Colin Bermingham), all of whom had pleaded not guilty.

Right · 1Reuters says the Court of Appeal found on Wednesday that errors in how judges directed juries, identified by the Supreme Court last year in the Hayes and Palombo cases, also tarnished later rate-rigging trials; Reuters counts eight rate-rigging convictions now overturned. Right · 2The Serious Fraud Office's Jason Williams, head of division, said: "We argued for a different outcome but respect the court's decision in relation to Christian Bittar," adding that the SFO remains committed to tackling complex fraud, bribery and corruption. Right · 1Tom Hayes told City A.M. the result was "a huge step towards correcting all the injustices that took place in this series of cases".

Right · 1Peter Johnson, formerly of Barclays and the original whistleblower, who also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years, is at an early stage of an appeal, Lord Justice Edis confirmed; Deutsche Bank was contacted for comment by City A.M. Right · 1Reuters says the SFO began a criminal investigation in 2012 and prosecuted 20 people: seven were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted in trials between 2015 and 2019.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets report the quashing as a further setback for the SFO's rate-rigging prosecutions; City A.M. adds Tom Hayes's reaction and Peter Johnson's pending appeal, while Arab News carries Reuters copy stressing the scale of the SFO cases.
Emphasis
The SFO's response, the sequence of overturned convictions, and that this is the first overturned guilty plea.
Leaves out or plays down
The court's reasons are not yet given; Deutsche Bank's view is not reported. Neither carries comment from Bittar himself.
Charged language
“rate rigging”“fresh blow”“banker greed”
For example
““I’m overwhelmed because it’s been a long, long journey, and I’ve been fighting for all of us, not just me.“” — City A.M.
“in a fresh blow to the Serious Fraud Office prosecutor” — Arab News