Britain charges Barclays, ex-bosses over "unlawful" Qatari deal

These men are the most senior bankers in Britain to be accused of alleged crimes during financial crisis

LONDON: Barclays and four former senior executives have been criminally charged in a high-profile UK investigation into undisclosed payments to Qatari investors during a 12 billion pound ($15.4 billion) emergency fund raising in 2008.

In a highly anticipated announcement, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Tuesday it was charging the bank with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and unlawful financial assistance. Barclays said it was considering its position over the charges and awaited further information.



It also charged Barclays' former senior executives John Varley, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath. The fundraising in 2008 included a $3 billion loan facility made to the wealthy Gulf state in November 2008, the SFO said.

Former chief executive Varley, Jenkins, a former senior investment banker, Kalaris, a former CEO of Barclays' wealth division and Boath, ex European head of financial institutions, have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation during a June 2008 capital raising. Varley and Jenkins have also been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the October 2008 capital raising.



Varley and Jenkins also face a charge of unlawful financial assistance, the SFO said. The men are the most senior bankers in Britain to date to be accused by prosecutors of alleged crimes during the financial crisis, which brought the global financial system to its knees
and plunged much of the world into recession.

Jenkins will vigorously defend himself against criminal charges his lawyer said. "As one might expect in the challenging circumstances of 2008, Mr Jenkins sought and received both internal and external legal advice on each and every topic covered by the SFO's accusations today," Brad Kaufman, long-time counsel for Jenkins at US law firm Greenberg Traurig, told Reuters.

Updates

A spokesperson for Boath declined to comment. A lawyer representing Varley declined to comment and a lawyer for Kalaris could not immediately be reached for comment. The men are the most senior bankers to be charged in Britain for alleged crimes during the financial crisis and face jail sentences of up to 10 years if found guilty. Barclays, the first bank to be prosecuted since David Green took over as head of the SFO in 2012, could be fined.

There was no allegation of wrongdoing against Qatar, which is a major investor in Britain.  The SFO's investigation centred on commercial agreements between Barclays and Qatari investors during two emergency fund raisings in June and October at the height of the credit crisis. Qatar Holding, part of the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger, an investment vehicle of former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, invested around 5.3 billion pounds in Barclays.



Authorities have examined whether payments from Barclays to Qatar at the same time, such as around 322 million pounds in "advisory services agreements" [ASA], alongside a multi-billion dollar loan, were honest and properly disclosed. Qatar, meanwhile, has made a healthy profit from its investment and remains Barclays' biggest shareholder, with a stake of around six per cent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Gulf state has not been accused of wrongdoing. Barclays shares were trading 0.7 percent lower at 205.45 pence by 0745 GMT, against a flat STOXX European bank index