LONDON (AFP) - Three former employees of banking giant Barclays have been charged in connection with the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal, Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in a statement on Monday.

The SFO said it had launched criminal proceedings "in connection with the manipulation of Libor", while the three are alleged to have "conspired to defraud between 1 June 2005 and 31 August 2007".