Barclays, former executives charged over Qatar fundraising

Barclays Plc and four former executives were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud regarding the bank’s 2008 capital raising from Qatar as it sought to avoid a bailout during one of the most turbulent periods in financial history.

The Serious Fraud Office said yesterday former Chief Executive Officer John Varley, former chairman of investment banking for the Middle East Roger Jenkins, ex-wealth chief Thomas Kalaris, and Richard Boath, the former European head of the bank’s financial institutions group, face charges alongside Barclays.

The four men are the most senior UK banking executives charged since the financial crisis, which sent banks across the globe scrambling to raise funds to cover billions in losses.

The current case relates to fees Barclays paid out to the Qatar Investment Authority and a $3 billion loan facility it made available to the troubled gulf nation while the bank raised 12 billion pounds ($15 billion) from Qatari and other investors.

The five-year investigation is one of a number of lingering probes over the bank’s behaviour dating back nearly a decade. [Bloomberg]

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