LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Barclays said it hadlaunched an investigation after a newspaper reported that thepersonal details of 27,000 customers had been stolen and sold.
Confidential information on customers' earnings and healthas well as passport details had ended up for sale, The Mail onSunday reported, citing data provided to it by a whistleblower.
Barclays said it had notified regulators and started aninvestigation, the initial findings of which suggested the fileswere linked to the Barclays Financial Planning business whichclosed in 2011.
"This appears to be criminal action and we will co-operatewith the authorities on pursuing the perpetrator," the bank saidin a statement on Sunday.
The data leak is the latest blow for the British bank aftera series of mis-selling and interest rate-fixing scandals.