Ex-Barclays Trader Goes to France as Euribor Trial Starts

(Bloomberg) -- Philippe Moryoussef, a former trader at Barclays Plc, went to France ahead of a London trial on charges that he rigged a key benchmark rate, saying that the proceedings wouldn’t be fair.

Moryoussef, a French citizen, was one of five traders scheduled to face the charges at a trial that started Monday with jury selection in London. The fact that the 49-year-old has left the U.K. can be reported after a judge lifted a reporting restriction in the case at a hearing Tuesday.

The Serious Fraud Office charged the group in November 2015 with conspiring to “procure or make submissions” to manipulate the euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, between 2005 and 2009. The behavior was investigated as part of a wider probe into benchmark rates, the most famous of which was Libor, a counterpart of Euribor.

Because of the "serious and repeated violations to the principle of a fair trial, Philippe Moryoussef" has refused to appear at the proceedings, his French lawyer, Francois De Castro, said in an emailed statement. He has put "himself under the protection of French law to challenge any measures that would deprive him of his freedom of movement."

The trial is scheduled to open with prosecution arguments Wednesday and Moryoussef will be tried in absentia.

The remaining defendants are former Deutsche Bank AG trader Achim Kraemer and ex-Barclays employees Colin Bermingham, Carlo Palombo and Sisse Bohart. They have all pleaded not guilty. Moryoussef also denies the allegations.

Another Deutsche Bank trader, Christian Bittar, who became famous in the industry because of his outsized bonuses, pleaded guilty last month. De Castro said the disclosure of Bittar’s plea to the public prejudiced Moryoussef’s trial.

The SFO initially charged 11 traders in the Euribor case, but five other defendants in France and Germany couldn’t be extradited to face trial.

De Castro also represented former Societe Generale SA trader, Stephane Esper, who was charged in the same case and successfully fought U.K. prosecutors’ attempts to extradite him through the French courts. A Paris appeals court ruled that the conduct, which took place in France, wasn’t outlawed in the country when it occurred a decade ago.

--With assistance from Gaspard Sebag

To contact the reporters on this story: Anthony Aarons in London at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Suzi Ring in London at sring5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net, Paul Armstrong

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