Qatar charges against Barclays dismissed

The Crown Court has dismissed charges against Barclays Bank and its owner Barclays PLC over billions of pounds raised from Qatar in 2008.

The charges were potentially extremely serious for Barclays as, if it had been found guilty, it could have lost its banking licence.

Barclays said the Serious Fraud Office was likely to try to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court.

Four former Barclays bankers still face charges over the Qatari investment.

In 2008, to avoid a government bailout, Barclays took a £12bn loan from Qatar Holdings, which is owned by the state of Qatar.

Under that deal Barclays loaned £2.3bn back to Qatar Holdings.

The SFO alleged that loan was used either directly, or indirectly, to buy shares in Barclays, which the SFO said was "unlawful financial assistance".

They were the first charges to be faced by a British bank in relation to its conduct during the financial crisis.

Former chief executive John Varley, former senior investment banker Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris, a former chief executive of Barclays' wealth division, and Richard Boath, the ex-European head of financial institutions, were all charged by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to the Qatari deal.

Their trial is scheduled to start next year.