Criminal charges could be brought against traders implicated in the interest rate rigging scandal after the Serious Fraud Office announced on Friday that it had begun a formal investigation into attempts to fix Libor.
The director of the SFO David Green said he had "decided to formally accept the Libor matter for investigation" after reviewing the information provided by regulators which last week fined Barclays £290m for attempting to manipulate the price of the key interest rate known as Libor - the London interbank offered rate.
The investigation is understood to be into the wider market and not just Barclays.
The decision to embark on a formal investigation appears to been taken quickly as on Monday the SFO had said it was considering "whether it is both appropriate and possible to bring criminal prosecutions".
"The issues are complex and the assessment of the evidence the FSA has gathered will take a short time, but we hope to come to a conclusion within a month," the SFO had said on Monday.
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