Libor and FX Fixing: SFO Pleads for Extra Financial Scandal Investigation Cash

The Serious Fraud Office is asking the government to increase its budget by 50% as it tackles a raft cases related the rigging of key interest and foreign exchange rates.

The SFO is also planning to use the extra money for its ongoing investigation into alleged bribery at Rolls-Royce Holdings, as well bridging the costs relating to its collapsed case against the Tchenguiz brothers property developers which cost it millions of pounds in damages.

The SFO is also investigating how Barclays raised funds from Qatar.

"As the Attorney General has said, the SFO has a current core budget to enable it to carry out its work," said the SFO in a statement.

"But the very nature of that work means it needs additional funding from time to time for its very largest and most complex investigations and prosecutions."

The SFO has a budget of £37m (€47m, $60m) for the fiscal year ending March 2015 after initially having funding from £52m in 2008.

This is not the first time that the SFO has asked for additional funding to tackle the spate of market manipulation issues.

In January this year, it received an extra undisclosed amount to deal with the range of financial scandals.