Former Barclays Trader Peter Johnson Seeks to Clear his Name in $9bn Interest Rate Rigging Scandal

He was released in 2018 after serving two years and was later revealed to be one of the original whistleblowers of the scandal.

In an emotional interview, Johnson revealed that telling his father about the scandal was "the hardest day of my life" and that he felt like he had let him down.

He descended into depression and avoided being seen in public after being put on gardening leave by Barclays in 2011.

Johnson faced the risk of prosecution by the US Department of Justice and could have faced up to 30 years in a US prison.

He spent years trying to suppress his emotions, but now wants to raise awareness about the scandal and its effects on him and his family.

His lawyer, Tony Woodcock, sees his prosecution as an outrage and senior MPs, including former Brexit secretary David Davis and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, have come to share that view.

Peter Johnson, a former Barclays banker, was fined £290m by UK and US regulators for rigging interest rates in 2012.

Johnson was not prosecuted for lowballing, but for manipulating interest rates on a smaller scale.

He became the first banker to plead guilty to manipulating interest rates in 2014, but only because he feared he might lose his home and ability to support his family.

Johnson was sentenced to four years in prison and was jailed alongside three other Barclays traders.

In the US, all 19 convictions for interest rate rigging are being overturned at the request of the DoJ, following a US appeal court ruling that the prosecution case was misconceived.

Many of these convictions arose from guilty pleas made under the threat of prosecution in the US.

Johnson would like his guilty plea to be revoked and his reputation restored.

He also believes that senior people at Barclays Bank, the Bank of England, and the government of the UK should be held accountable.