Barclays Plc and four former executives were charged by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office with conspiracy to commit fraud during the bank’s 2008 effort to raise capital from Qatar. Barclays was seeking to avoid a bailout amid one of the most turbulent periods in financial history.
The four men are the most senior U.K. banking executives charged since the financial crisis:
John Varley
Varley was appointed chief executive of Barclays 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. Varley, 61, holds a number of non-executive director roles at some of the world’s largest companies including BlackRock Inc. and Rio Tinto Group.
Charges
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the June 2008 capital raising.
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the October 2008 capital raising.
- Unlawful financial assistance.
Roger Jenkins
Jenkins, 61, once known as one of the highest-paid bankers at Barclays, worked most of his career at the lender in roles including running a structured capital markets business that developed tax arbitrage strategies for clients and as chairman of the Middle Eastern investment banking unit. Jenkins has often been pictured in tabloid newspapers for dating a number of high-profile women such as model Elle Macpherson.
Charges
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the June 2008 capital raising.
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the October 2008 capital raising.
- Unlawful financial assistance.
Richard Boath
Boath, 58, worked in Barclays’s investment bank for 15 years, including as chairman of its financial institutions group. Since his departure from the bank in 2016 he’s been working as a consultant. He’s sued the bank at a London employment tribunal.
Charges
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the June 2008 capital raising.
Tom Kalaris
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.
Charges
- Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the June 2008 capital raising.
Courtesy Bloomberg
