LONDON — British prosecutors said Monday they are examining whether they can bring criminal charges on top of the massive fines imposed on Barclays bank for a financial-market-manipulation scandal.
The announcement followed hours after Barclays chairman Marcus Agius resigned and accepted ultimate responsibility for the misbehavior between 2005 and 2009 that cost the company $453 million in fines by U.S. and British agencies.
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said it hopes to decide whether to pursue criminal charges within a month.
“The SFO is aware of investigations in other jurisdictions and working with the relevant authorities,” it said in a statement.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the SFO was considering charges against the company as well as individuals.
The U.S. Justice Department said last week that individuals at Barclays could face prosecution but that the company would not because of its cooperation in revealing how the bank and individual employees submitted false data on interbank borrowing rates.
Agius’ departure boosted the bank’s share price but also brought fresh demands that chief executive Bob Diamond also resign.
The Associated Press
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