The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that has today charged Barclays Plc and four individuals with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance contrary to the Companies Act 1985.
John Varley
The four people charged, former senior executives with Barclays PLC, include:
- John Silvester Varley (age 61), the former Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Plc.
- Roger Alan Jenkins (61), now of Malibu, California, the former Executive Chairman of Investment Banking and Investment Management in the Middle East and North Africa, Barclays Capital.
- Thomas Llewellyn Kalaris (61), the former Chief Executive of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management (a division of Barclays Plc).
- Richard William Boath (58), the former European Head of Financial Institutions Group.
The charges relate to Barclays Plc’s capital raising arrangements with Qatar Holding LLC and Challenger Universal Ltd, which took place in June and October 2008, and a US$3 billion loan facility made available to the State of Qatar acting through the Ministry of Economy and Finance in November 2008.
Qatar Holding invested in Barclays between June and October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, when it was seeking extra cash.
The authorities have been investigating payments from the bank to Qatar around the same period.
The SFO has said it is “conducting a criminal investigation into certain commercial arrangements between Barclays Bank and Qatar Holding in 2008”.
The SFO has brought the following charges:
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the June 2008 capital raising, contrary to s1 and s2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and s1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 – Barclays Plc, John Varley, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath.
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the October 2008 capital raising, contrary to s1 and s2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and s1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 – Barclays Plc, John Varley and Roger Jenkins.
- Unlawful financial assistance contrary to s151 of the Companies Act 1985 – Barclays Plc, John Varley and Roger Jenkins.
The defendants will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court at 14.00 pm on 3 July 2017.