John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays, and three former colleagues have appeared at Westminster magistrates court to face fraud charges.
Varley appeared in the dock with Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath on Monday following the announcement by the Serious Fraud Office last month that they were to be prosecuted over the way Barclays raised billions of pounds from Qatar in 2008.
They are the first senior bankers to face criminal charges for events dating back to the banking crisis almost a decade ago, when Barclays raised £11.8bn in emergency funds from a number of big investors, including Qatar. The four are charged alongside Barclays itself.
In a packed courtroom, the four sat alongside each other in the glass-panelled dock and spoke only to confirm their name, date of birth and address. They were told to attend Southwark crown court – to where the case is being transferred – on 17 July.
Kalaris, a dual US-UK citizen resident in London, and Jenkins, a British citizen resident in Malibu, California, were required to provide security of £500,000 within seven days by Emma Arbuthnot, the senior district judge overseeing the hearing. Varley and Boath were granted unconditional bail.
No formal pleas have been made but the BBC reported that all four would plead not guilty.
The charges relate to two fundraisings: one in June 2008 and one in October. Both fundraisings involved two investment vehicles related to Qatar. Another of the charges relates to a $3bn (£2.3bn) loan advanced to Qatar in November 2008.
Varley, Jenkins, Kalaris – all 61 – and Boath, 58, along with the bank are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the fundraising in June 2008. Varley, Jenkins and the bank are also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the fundraising that took place in October 2008. Varley, Jenkins and the bank face a further charge of providing unlawful financial assistance through the loan.
Varley was chief executive of Barclays until the end of 2010. Kalaris ran the wealth management arm of Barclays. Jenkins is a former head of Middle East and north African investment banking, and Boath is a former head of the bank’s European financial institutions group.
