Barclays ‘made sham payments to investors’

BARCLAYS made £346m in ‘sham’ payments to investors to secure their support in an emergency cash call, court documents claim.

The bank has been accused of making the payments to Qatari investors who pumped £4.6bn into the bank in 2008 in two fundraisings.

The allegations appear in court documents filed by PCP, the investment firm of dealmaker Amanda Staveley ( picturedbelow).

Staveley, a former girlfriend of Prince Andrew, helped broker a deal that saw the Abu Dhabi royal family invest in Barclays during the second fundraising.

The emergency cash calls during the financial crisis enabled Barclays to stay afloat without a bailout from the UK Government.

Taxpayers were forced to prop up HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland during the financial crisis.

The legal action is linked to a Serious Fraud Office investigation into millions of pounds of fees paid by Barclays to Qatari investors. Barclays has been accused of bribing investors and not properly disclosing these payments to shareholders. The court documents allege that Barclays made the payments after the Qataris saw the value of an earlier investment in the bank plummet as the financial crisis took hold.

Staveley is reported to have been paid between £30m and £40m for her role in securing investment from Abu Dhabi. But she argues that PCP is entitled to more.

PCP’s lawsuit seeks £720m in damages plus interest and costs.

A Barclays spokesman said: ‘We believe the claim is misconceived and without merit and will be vigorously defending it.’

The shares fell 0.05p to 161.7p.