Barclays and four former directors face fraud charges

Barclays and four of its former top bankers, including ex-chief executive John Varley, have been charged with fraud over the bank's emergency fundraising from Qatari investors during the financial crash.

Former Barclays boss John Varley is one of four people charged by the Serious Fraud Office. Picture: Matt Dunham/PA Wire

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it had brought charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against the bank itself as well as Varley, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath after a five-year probe into the events surrounding the capital-raising in 2008.

The latter enabled Barclays to avoid the UK taxpayer bailouts that propped up Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds as the sector went into meltdown.

• READ MORE: Barclays’ Qatari dealings become focus for SFO

Barclays said: “The SFO has today charged Barclays with two offences of conspiring with certain former senior officers and employees of Barclays to commit fraud by false representations relating to two advisory services agreements entered into with Qatar Holding LLC in June and October 2008.”

The bank said it had also been charged with one offence of “unlawful financial assistance” in relation to a $3 billion loan provided to the State of Qatar in November 2008.

Yesterday’s SFO action marks the first criminal charges to be brought in the UK against a bank and its former executives for activities during the financial crisis.

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Qatari investors – the state-backed Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal – pumped £6bn into Barclays in June and October 2008.

Barclays said that it was “considering its position”. The defendants will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.

Varley, who was chief executive between 2004 and 2011, headed the bank at the time of the fundraising, while Jenkins is also said to have played a key role in finalising the fundraisings.

The Financial Conduct Authority fined the bank £50 million in 2013 after finding it had failed to disclose arrangements and fees it paid to the Qatari investors. Barclays contested the fine and the challenge was put on hold while the SFO conducted its probe, but that stay has been lifted.

Jenkins’ lawyer, Brad Kaufman, said his client “intends to vigorously defend himself against these charges. As one might expect in the challenging circumstances of 2008, Mr Jenkins sought and received both internal and external legal advice on all of the matters covered by the accusations levelled today by the SFO.”

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