Mr Bittar worked at Deutsche Bank where he traded interest rate derivative products referenced to benchmarks including Euribor.

The FCA found that Mr Bittar lacked “integrity and fitness and propriety” to carry out such a role and sought to “manipulate” Euribor.  

Euribor is the Euro Interbank Offered Rate, a daily reference rate which is published by the European Money Markets Institute. It reflects the average interest rates at which Eurozone banks offer unsecured funds to other banks in the wholesale money market. It can affect savings and mortgage rates across Europe.

In April 2017, the FCA issued Mr Bittar with a Decision Notice which imposed a financial penalty on Mr Bittar of £6.5 million.  

He referred the Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal on 10 May 2017.  

The Upper Tribunal proceedings were stayed on 1 August 2017 pending the final outcome of criminal proceedings against Mr Bittar for conspiracy to defraud.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in the criminal action on 2 March 2018 and on 20 July 2018 he was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison.  He was also ordered to pay £2.5 million by way of confiscation order.

His misdealings included making requests to Euribor submitters to make high or low Euribor submissions, both internally to Deutsche Bank submitters and externally to traders at other Euribor panel banks.  

He did so to make more profit from the trading positions for which he was responsible and, on occasion, the profitability of the trading positions of other traders.

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “The FCA’s Decision Notice against Mr Bittar, which was issued in April 2017, can now be published.  It is a detailed account of how Mr Bittar sought to manipulate Euribor.  It is a tale of gross misconduct and betrayal of the public interest in financial benchmarks.

“If he had not been convicted and imprisoned for the same matters, the FCA would have sought a financial penalty of £6.5 million.  As it is, we have prohibited him from performing any regulated function, reinforcing the message of the criminal court.”

The regulator added that in light of the orders made in the criminal proceedings, and with the consent of the parties, on 14 September, the Upper Tribunal directed the FCA not to impose a financial penalty on Mr Bittar, and otherwise ordered that the reference be dismissed.  

This means the FCA’s initial decision to prohibit Mr Bittar is now a final decision, the watchdog said.