Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) has been charged over a US$3bn loan provided to Qatari investors as part of an emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office charged the lender with unlawful financial assistance in relation to the capital raising.
READ: Barclays hit by SFO criminal charges related to 2008 emergency cash injection from Qatar
The SFO had charged the bank in June 2017 with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation during the fundraising. At the time the bank also faced a charge of unlawful financial assistance after authorities examined whether payments to Qatar, including £322mln in “advisory services agreements” alongside the US$3bn loan, were honest and properly disclosed.
The bank said it would defend the charges brought against it and insisted it does not expect an impact on its “ability to serve its customers and clients”.
The charges followed a five-year investigation into the two-part fundraising.
The fundraising had included a £7.3bn emergency cash injection from Qatar, which helped the bank avoid a UK government bailout like its peers Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (LON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY).