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LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The UK's Serious Fraud Office hasasked the government for an extra 21.14 million pounds ($30.9million) to meet urgent cash needs as it pursues some of itsmost complex investigations, such as an inquiry into allegedfinancial benchmark rigging.
The SFO, which investigates and prosecutes top drawer andmulti-national fraud, bribery and corruption, has now asked thegovernment for a near-doubling of its funding for this financialyear after requesting an extra 10 million pounds last June.
The SFO's biggest and costliest cases have included theinvestigation into the alleged manipulation of Libor (Londoninterbank offered rate), which to date has yielded one guiltyplea and one 14-year sentence, reduced to 11 years on appeal.
Six individuals remain on trial and five others are awaitingtrial next month on Libor-related charges.
In an off-shoot of that investigation, 11 former DeutscheBank, Barclays and Societe Generale bankers resident in seven different countries will onMonday be formally charged with alleged Euribor (Euro interbankoffered rate) interest rate rigging offences at London'sWestminster Magistrates' Court.
The agency does not announce all its investigations. Butother inquiries announced more recently include the allegedmanipulation of the $5 trillion-per-day foreign exchange market,accounting irregularities at retailer Tesco and aninquiry into the conduct of Bank of England liquidity auctions.
The SFO, which operates on an annual core budget of around33.8 million pounds, can request "blockbuster funding" if thecost of cases exceeds a percentage of its budget.
"The Director (of the SFO, David Green) has said he isconfident that the SFO, with blockbuster funding, has access tosufficient resource to conduct its very challenging and complexwork," the agency said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
Legal experts have criticised a funding method they arguecould lead to political interference with cases that can concerninfluential blue-chip British companies. Its current case loadincludes inquiries into Barclays, Rolls-Royce and GSK.
The SFO's Green has said that while the arrangement is notperfect, it "does the job".
($1 = 0.6853 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
