People use a line of Barclays cash dispensers in central London, June 28, 2012.PAUL HACKETT/Reuters
Britain's fraud-busting agency on Friday said it had agreed to investigate the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal, which on Tuesday led to the departure of Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond.
"The SFO Director David Green QC has today decided formally to accept the Libor matter for investigation," the Serious Fraud Office said in a brief statement.
The SFO said Monday it would decide within a month whether to press criminal charges over the Libor affair, amid concerns banks understated their borrowing costs to make it appear they were in better financial health than they were.