Barclays Plc and four former executives were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud regarding the bank’s 2008 capital raising from Qatar as it sought to avoid a bailout during one of the most turbulent periods in financial history.
The Serious Fraud Office said Tuesday that former Chief Executive Officer John Varley, former chairman of investment banking for the Middle East Roger Jenkins, ex-wealth chief Thomas Kalaris, and Richard Boath, the former European head of the bank’s financial institutions group, face charges along with Barclays.
The four men are the most senior U.K. banking executives charged since the financial crisis, which sent banks across the globe scrambling to raise funds to cover billions in losses. The case relates to fees Barclays paid to the Qatar Investment Authority and a $3 billion loan facility it made available to the nation while the bank raised 12 billion pounds ($15 billion) from Qatari and other investors
The five-year investigation is one of a number of lingering probes over the bank’s behavior dating back nearly a decade. Since the financial crisis, Barclays has faced probes ranging from the rigging of key benchmark rates to more recent scandals related to how executives dealt with whistle-blowers.
The London-based bank said it is “considering its position” in relation to the allegations. Barclays said that one of its main subsidiaries may face additional charges in the case.
The charges relate to Barclays’s capital arrangements with Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger Universal Ltd., an investment vehicle of the country’s then prime minister.
In addition to the SFO, the Qatar deals are being reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority, which re-opened its probe earlier this year after more documents came to light. The regulator had previously fined the bank 50 million pounds in relation to how it disclosed the fees paid to the Qataris.
July Hearing
Varley and Jenkins face three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and unlawful financial assistance. Boath and Kalaris each face one fraud count. A London court hearing is scheduled for July 3.
“As one might expect in the challenging circumstances of 2008, Mr. Jenkins sought and received both internal and external legal advice on each and every subject mentioned in the accusations leveled by the SFO today,” said Brad Kaufman, Jenkins’ U.S. based lawyer at Greenberg Traurig.
A lawyer for Varley declined to comment. Attorneys for the other two defendants weren’t immediately available to comment.
Varley, 61, was appointed Barclays’s CEO in 2004 after starting his career at the bank in the 1980s. He presided over the lender during the 2008 financial crisis before handing the reins to Bob Diamond in 2011.
Malibu Resident
Jenkins, who now lives in Malibu, California, worked most of his career at the lender in roles including running a structured capital markets business that developed tax arbitrage strategies for clients.
Boath, 58, worked in Barclays’s investment bank for 15 years, most recently as co-head of the lender’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Since his departure from the bank in 2016 he’s been working as a consultant. He sued the bank at a London employment tribunal.
Kalaris, 61, joined Barclays in 1996 after 18 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co. His roles at the British bank have included heading its American business and wealth management unit and he was appointed to Barclays’s executive committee in 2009.
Bloomberg