A new nightmare on Wall Street? U.S. banks face criminal probe into global interest rate-fixing scheme as Barclays blows the whistle on America's financial giants

By TOBY HARNDEN and THOMAS DURANTE

PUBLISHED: 23:38 GMT, 28 June 2012

Some of America's top banks are set to be dragged into a major criminal investigation of a global interest rate-fixing scandal about to engulf some of Wall Street's biggest institutions.

The worldwide probe centres on claims traders at Barclays colluded with rival banks to keep interest rates at levels to their benefit.

Barclays agreed to pay a whopping $453million in fines to the U.S. Justice Department and the UK's Financial Services Authority.

20 more banks were rigging interest rates: British bankers now facing criminal inquiry over scandal that was kept secret for years

• Barclays shares drop 15 per cent as pressure on Diamond grows
• George Osborne promises new criminal sanctions for market abusers
• RBS, HSBC and Lloyds all named as under investigation as scandal widens

By JAMES CHAPMAN, BECKY BARROW, RUTH SUNDERLAND and ROB DAVIES

Hundreds of bankers across three continents are embroiled in the interest-rate fixing scandal that has left Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond fighting to save his job.

As pressure intensified on Britain’s highest paid banking boss to quit, MPs heard a string of other financial institutions across the world were under investigation.