Conspiracy to defraud meaning

R v Hayes; R v Palombo [2025] UKSC 29 Background The appellants, Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, challenged their convictions for conspiracy to defraud, in August 2015 and March 2019 respectively. The allegation was that, together with others, they sought to influence crucial benchmark interest rates underpinning financial markets: for Mr Hayes, the London Inter‑bank Offered Rate (LIBOR); and for Mr Palombo, the Euro Inter‑bank Offered Rate (EURIBOR). A benchmark is an interest rate designed to mirror the prevailing cost of borrowing within a market, providing an indicative snapshot at a given moment. Such a rate serves as a reference for numerous transactions, among them financial derivatives and similar arrangements. Contributing banks were required to provide the rate at which that institution (for LIBOR) – or a prime bank (for EURIBOR) – could obtain funds at a particular time. The submissions were then averaged and trimmed to produce the figure released for that day, which served as the published benchmark...

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R v Hayes; R v Palombo [2025] UKSC 29 What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment is poised to have significant consequences for the safety of convictions of other traders found guilty of comparable offences said to stem from alleged LIBOR/EURIBOR benchmark manipulation; nonetheless, it is improbable that the same problems will recur in forthcoming cases, and all LIBOR settings ended in 2024 (though EURIBOR remains in operation). It also offers several helpful reminders for criminal practitioners: Criminal trials must preserve a clear line between issues of fact and issues of law; questions of honesty or sincerely held belief are matters of fact for the jury to determine. The judgment criticises aspects of the indictments and stresses that prosecutors must supply sufficient particulars so that both the defence and the trial judge can grasp, clearly and precisely, the nature of the prosecution case (paras [52–64]). The demand for clarity in an indictment is especially acute where conspiracy to defraud is charged,...

Fraud by false representation This Practice Note considers the offence of fraud by false representation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), read together with FrA 2006, section 1. The constituent elements are: making a false representation dishonestly knowing that the representation is, or might be, untrue or misleading with the intention of obtaining a gain for the defendant or another, causing loss to another, or exposing another to the risk of loss The offence spans a wide range of behaviour. No actual gain or loss is required, and the representation need not in fact deceive anyone for FrA 2006 liability to arise. The offence is complete once a false representation is made with the necessary knowledge, dishonesty and intent, and it is immaterial whether anyone is aware of it... You may also be interested in the following Practice Notes: Fraud by failure to disclose and abuse of position Obtaining services...

The Fraud Guideline The Sentencing Council (SC) has issued a sentencing guideline for fraud offences under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006)—fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information, and fraud by abuse of position—together with false accounting contrary to section 17 of the Theft Act 1968, and conspiracy to defraud at common law, for use in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court (found here) (together, the Fraud Guideline). The Fraud Guideline applies to all individual offenders aged 18 and over who are sentenced on or after 1 October 2014, regardless of when the offence was committed. The SC also publishes a series of overarching guidelines to be taken into account in all sentencing exercises, see Practice Note: Sentences imposed following conviction. Among these, the General guideline—overarching principles (the General guideline) is designed to be used alongside offence-specific guidelines and addresses seriousness while providing expanded explanations for aggravating and mitigating factors, culpability and harm, see Practice Note: Sentencing Council General Guideline—overarching principles—Using the General Guideline in...

What is share ramping? Share ramping is an unlawful type of market manipulation that involves hyping the value of shares to deceive the market. It is often referred to as ‘pump and dump’ or ‘book ramping’. There are various methods, the most common being to float a company on the market while planting unrealistic expectations about its profitability. Another tactic is to acquire shares when prices are depressed and then circulate a rumour that a takeover is imminent. As the price climbs, the perpetrators sell and pocket the gain. The internet, chat rooms, emails and other channels are exploited to create buzz or apparent interest in the market, pushing the price higher. Typically, those behind the scheme then dump or off-load their holdings for profit, leaving ordinary investors holding worthless shares. At times the objective is the reverse—driving the price down in a ‘trash and cash’ ploy—so that the investor benefits by short‑selling or buying at an artificially suppressed price. There is no specific criminal offence labelled share ramping....