Barclays in the dock

BARCLAYS is being hauled before magistrates again today after investigators charged it over a massive fundraising deal during the financial crisis.

It is claimed Qatar bought £2.3bn of shares in the bank using cash which was illegally loaned to it by Barclays. the 2008 deal helped keep the lender out of the hands of taxpayers. But the Serious fraud Office claims it breached laws which forbid companies from using their own money to buy stock and this week charged operating company Barclays Bank Plc with unlawful financial assistance. holding company Barclays Plc was charged last year. formal proceedings against Barclays Bank begin at Westminster Magistrates Court today, with a trial late next year.