The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
SFO attempts to revive Barclays fraud charges
Barclays is to face a further legal battle over its controversial 2008 emergency fundraising as the Serious Fraud Office looks to reinstate charges against the banking giant.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) lodged an application in the High Court on Monday seeking to reinstate all charges against Barclays Plc and Barclays Bank Plc relating to the fundraising from Qatari investors at the height of the financial crisis.
Barclays confirmed to the stock exchange it plans to defend the application brought by the SFO.
It comes after the charges were dismissed by Southwark Crown Court in May.
The SFO had sought to prosecute the lender for two offences of conspiring to commit fraud by false representations regarding advisory services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008.
In addition, there was one alleged offence of unlawful financial assistance in relation to a three billion US dollar loan provided by Barclays to the State of Qatar in the same year.
Last year, the SFO brought charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against the bank itself, ex-chief executive John Varley and other top executives Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath after a five-year investigation into its cash call in 2008.
They were the first criminal charges to be brought in the UK against a bank and its former executives for activities during the financial crisis.
The charges related to the bank’s emergency fundraising from Qatari investors as Barclays sought to avoid a government bailout amid the banking sector meltdown.
Qatari investors, the state-backed Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal, pumped £6.1 billion into Barclays during two fundraisings in June and October 2008.