Wall St veteran and a ‘whistleblower’
A 61-year- old veteran of Wall Street and the Square Mile, at Barclays, Thomas Kalaris was a lieutenant of Bob Diamond.
The latter was forced out as the group chief executive in 2012 in the wake of the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal.
Mr Kalaris survived his boss’s downfall only by a matter of months. Yesterday he was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to the June 2008 Qatari deal.
The father of five joined Barclays in 1996 after 18 years at JP Morgan. He rose to become head of Barclay Capital’s American business in New York, answering directly to Barclay Capital’s then-head Mr Diamond.
In 2005 Mr Kalaris took a new role as chief executive of Barclays Wealth Management, its private banking division, in London, a move which Mr Diamond said reflected the importance he attached to the wealth management business.
A Court Circular from April 2007 showed that the new job brought Mr Kalaris into contact with Prince Andrew, the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment and old flame of Amanda Staveley. In 2012 Mr Diamond sent Mr Kalaris back to America to oversee the bank’s growing empire there. But at home, Barclays became mired in the Libor scandal, Mr Diamond left, and awkward questions were asked about the pay, bonuses and track record of top executives from his era.
Another set to face the courts is the son of a former Miss Manchester. Richard Boath, the father of child actor Freddie Boath, will today stand in his own spotlight.
The Yorkshire-born father of three enjoyed a glittering career before his fall from grace. He claimed was sacked last year as Barc lays’ chairman of financial services after the bank found out he acted as a whistleblower for the Serious Fraud Office over the Qatari allegations.
He brought an employment tribunal action for unfair dismissal and unpaid bonuses, which is ongoing. But the SFO has now charged the whistleblower with conspiracy to commit fraud.
After Oakham School and a management science degree at the University of Manchester, Mr Boath joined Bank of America. Further moves to US investment banks Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers eventually saw him arrive at Barclays Capital in 2000.
By the time of the Qatari deal in 2008, Mr Boath was co-head of global finance in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He left Barclays in early 2016 after the SFO handed the bank a 900-page transcript of interviews he gave to criminal investigators.
Boath said last night: ‘The SFO’s decision to charge me is based on a false understanding of my role and the facts. I have cooperated fully with the SFO and FCA throughout their investigations ... I will contest these charges vigorously.’