Patrick Cryne, Stephen Graham, Timothy Whiston and John Whelan are to appear in court on 29 January to answer charges of making misleading statements to financial markets.

The action follows a three-year investigation of the company and relates to the recognition of revenues in accounts from the 2004 and 2005 financial years, when iSOFT was a key supplier to the £12.7bn (NPfIT).

Cryne, who co-founded iSOFT, told the that he had fully cooperated with the FSA and was "surprised and disappointed" at being charged.

When the alleged misstatements were made iSOFT was valued at £1 billion and was a in the NPfIT. CSC is not involved in the alleged fraud and faces no criminal proceedings. It was subsequently in October 2007 by Australian company IBA Group, which renamed itself iSOFT Limited.

The new iSOFT said, "None of the former iSOFT Group plc directors that were investigated are employed by iSOFT Group Limited or any subsidiary of the company."