UK financial regulator says it is launching formal investigation of Goldman Sachs

UK regulator begins Goldman Sachs probe

LONDON — Britain’s financial regulator says it is launching a full-blown investigation into Goldman Sachs International after U.S. authorities filed civil fraud charges against the bank.

The Financial Services Authority said Tuesday that it will be liaising closely with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in its review.

British interest in the case is likely to focus on the Royal Bank of Scotland, which paid $841 million to Goldman Sachs in 2007 to unwind its position in a fund acquired in the takeover of Dutch Bank ABN Amro, according to the complaint filed in the United States.