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Former British trader Tom Hayes has filed a $400 million lawsuit against UBS, accusing the Swiss banking giant of destroying his life and career by making him the "fall guy" in the infamous Libor interest rate scandal.

The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut Superior Court on October 23, alleges malicious prosecution and corporate scapegoating by Hayes' former employer.

According to court documents obtained by Reuters, Hayes claims UBS framed him as the mastermind behind the global rate-rigging scheme to protect its senior executives and avoid heavier regulatory penalties.

"It has taken me over a decade to overturn my wrongful conviction and clear my name," Hayes said in a statement. "My legal team are now rightfully holding UBS to account for scapegoating me."

The lawsuit argues that UBS fed misleading information to UK and US prosecutors to direct blame away from top executives, allowing the bank to secure leniency from regulators.

Hayes alleges the company's internal investigation was "fundamentally flawed" and designed to present him as the perfect villain while UBS paid $1.5 billion to settle charges with US, UK, and Swiss authorities in 2012.

In the complaint, Hayes accuses UBS of staging the entire process like a performance.

"The process was carefully stage-managed by UBS to control the narrative and steer attention away from senior executives," the filing reads. "And like all good theater, UBS's show had a hand-picked villain: Tom Hayes."

UBS Sued by Hayes After Libor Conviction Overturned

UBS has declined to comment on the case, which comes just months after Hayes' UK conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.

The ruling found that the original trial judge misinformed jurors about whether banks could consider commercial interests in Libor submissions, undermining the fairness of his 2015 conviction.

Hayes, who served more than five years of an 11-year prison sentence, maintains that his actions were transparent and approved by his superiors.

He is now seeking damages for reputational, professional, and emotional harm caused by the alleged wrongdoing.

The former trader also filed a similar case against UBS in a New York state court, broadening his legal battle.

His attorney, Jonathan Harris, told FOX Business that Hayes was "an innocent man who was indicted, spent over five years in jail, and had his career and life destroyed over actions he took openly, with the knowledge of his superiors at UBS."

The Libor scandal, which surfaced after the 2008 financial crisis, led to nearly $10 billion in fines for global banks and the eventual phase-out of Libor in 2021.

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