Barclays plc (LON:BARC) and four of its former top executives will appear in court on 9 January 2019 to begin a trial over the bank’s emergency fundraising in 2008, a judge said today.
The lender, ex-chief executive John Varley and former bankers Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris, and Richard Boath, were last month charged by the Serious Fraud Office with conspiracy to commit fraud over undisclosed payments made to Qatari investors as part of negotiations for a capital injection.
READ: Barclays hit by SFO criminal charges related to 2008 emergency cash injection from Qatar
Varley, who was chief executive between 2004 and 2011, Barclays and Jenkins also face a charge of unlawful financial assistance in relation to a US$3bn loan provided to the State of Qatar.
The charges follow a five-year investigation in relation to the bank's fundraising.
Barclays raised about £12bn in two emergency fundraising in June and October 2008, mainly from Qatar investors, to avoid a government bailout during the height of the financial crisis.
In a court hearing in London today, Judge Andrew Edis set the date of the trial for the case, which marks the first criminal charges to be brought in the UK against a bank for activities during the credit crunch.