LIBOR Investigation Fallout Continues, Three Ex-Barclays Employees to Face Charges

The British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that criminal proceedings have commenced today against three former employees at Barclays Bank Plc, as a result of its still ongoing investigation regarding the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor ).

Two former rate submitters, Peter Charles Johnson and Jonathan James Mathew, along with a former trader Stylianos Contogoulas, will be charged in connection with the manipulation of LIBOR while they were working for Barclays. According to the SFO, they allegedly conspired to commit fraud for a period of over two years, from June 1, 2005 to August 31, 2007.

The SFO is the U.K. government's department responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption. The office has been on the LIBOR case since July 6, 2012, and has already brought charges against three other former banks employees related to this investigation.

Major financial institutions have already been ordered to pay fines in excess of $3.5 billion by international regulators, as a result of the investigations into attempted manipulation of the LIBOR rates for U.S. dollar, yen and sterling, and for attempted manipulation of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).

Meanwhile, an unrelated new scandal involving institutional FX dealers colluding in chat groups with names such as ”The Cartel” and “The Bandits’ Club,” has led to another round of global investigations by regulators against major banks.