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By Steve Slater
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Britain's fraud agency startedcriminal proceedings against three former bankers at Britain'sBarclays Plc on Monday for the alleged manipulation ofLibor interest rates.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it has charged PeterCharles Johnson, Jonathan James Mathew and Stylianos Contogoulaswith conspiracy to defraud between June 2005 and August 2007.
The SFO last year brought charges against three formeremployees of Swiss bank UBS and UK brokerage RPMartin, the first people to face trial in connection with aglobal investigation into a rate-rigging scandal that sparkedintense criticism of standards across the industry.
Barclays paid $450 million in July 2012 to settleallegations from U.S. and UK regulators that it had manipulatedLibor interest rates, prompting the resignations of its chairmanand chief executive and a barrage of criticism about standardsand culture.
Libor rates, designed to reflect the wholesale cost ofloans, are used to help to price hundreds of trillions ofdollars worth of financial products worldwide, ranging fromderivatives to mortgages.
Johnson was a U.S. dollar Libor-submitter in London. TheFinancial Times said Mathew reported to Johnson and signed anon-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in2012 before Barclays' settlement, whereby he agrees toco-operate and avoids any criminal charge.
Until now investigations have centered on alleged rigging ofyen Libor.
Barclays declined to comment on Monday.
All three men are listed as "inactive" on the UK financialregulator's register of regulated staff. It showed Johnson leftBarclays on Sept. 27, 2012 and Mathew left a day later.
Contogoulas left Barclays in April 2006 and joined MerrillLynch three months later as a rates trader. Merrill was not oneof the banks that submitted prices used to set Libor prices. Itwas taken over by Bank of America and Contogoulas leftthe bank in September 2011, the register shows.
Bank of America declined to comment.
Eight banks and RP Martin have paid penalties of almost $6billion for the alleged manipulation of Libor and its euroequivalent, Euribor.
UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland and Rabobank have paidbigger settlements than Barclays over Libor, and more banks areexpected to face fines as regulators in the United States andBritain continue to investigate.
The SFO's investigation into Libor began in July 2012 and itsaid it continues to work with Britain's Financial ConductAuthority and the U.S. Department of Justice on the case.
It said the former Barclays staff would appear atWestminster Magistrates' Court at a future date.
The SFO is under pressure after a series of high-profilesetbacks, and its boss David Green has staked his reputation onthe success of high-profile investigations such as Libor.
It brought charges in relation to alleged Libor riggingagainst Tom Hayes, a former trader at UBS and Citigroup, lastJune and started proceedings against Terry Farr and JamesGilmour, former brokers at RP Martin, last July.
The three men pleaded not guilty in December. Hayes' trialis expected to start in January 2015.
Regulators are also now investigating how other benchmarksare set, such as in foreign exchange and commodities markets.
