Five ex-Barclays traders plead not guilty to libor manipulation

Trial is scheduled to start this week and to last for four months

Former Barclays trader Ryan Reich arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London. Reich is charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) Libor inquiry. (Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

Five former traders at Barclays have pleaded not guilty to manipulating the US dollar London interbank offered rate ahead of a UK trial.

Jonathan Mathew, Stylianos Contogoulas, Ryan Reich, Alex Pabon and Jay Merchant denied the charges on Monday morning. The jury is being chosen for a trial scheduled to start this week and to last for four months.

It’s the third trial in the UK of bankers and brokers accused of rigging benchmark interest rates linked to trillions of dollars in contracts worldwide.