(Bloomberg) — Three Barclays Plc Libor traders in New York were notified by U.K. prosecutors that they may be charged for allegedly manipulating the interest-rate benchmark, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office plans to act within a month against the trio in connection with suspected rigging of the dollar London interbank offered rate, or Libor, said the people, who asked not to be named because the investigation is private.
One former Barclays trader who may be charged is Ryan Reich, who now works at WCG Management LP in New York, according to one of the people. The identities of the others or whether they have also left the bank arent known, according to two of the people.
The SFO has sought to interview former Barclays traders in the U.S. and U.K. regarding Libor manipulation in recent months, Bloomberg reported last month.
These would be the first U.S.-based individuals charged in the British probe. Most of the eight people charged by U.S. authorities in their rate-rigging investigations worked in the U.K. Global enforcement agencies are investigating whether more than a dozen firms colluded to manipulate the rate, with about $6 billion in fines levied to date.
Reich didnt immediately respond to a message left on his work telephone and e-mails seeking comment sent before regular business hours. Nilima Fox, a spokeswoman for the SFO, declined to comment. Giles Croot, a spokesman for London-based Barclays, declined to comment.
Others Charged
Earlier this month, the SFO charged three former Barclays traders in London, Peter Charles Johnson, Jonathan James Mathew and Stylianos Contogoulas, with conspiracy to defraud related to Libor. The three conspired with other employees of Barclays Plc and its associated entities to defraud with intent to prejudice the economic interests of others, prosecutors said in court documents.
Naturally, we dont accept for one moment the characterization of the facts as portrayed by the SFO, said Hugo Keith, a lawyer for Johnson at a court hearing this week.
Three former employees of other financial firms will stand trial next year for yen Libor manipulation.
Barclays was the first to be fined over Libor with a record 290 million-pound ($482 million) penalty by U.S. and U.K. regulators in June 2012. As part of that decision, the bank admitted to submitting false figures for Libor and Euribor, the Euro interbank offered rate.
Barclays has been assisting with the investigations into other firms and individuals, and was the first to provide extensive and meaningful cooperation to the U.S. government, the Justice Department said when the fine was announced.
