Barclays, its former chief executive and three other ex-senior executives have been charged by UK authorities with fraud related to the emergency cash injections that saved the bank from a government bailout at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
The Serious Fraud Office case against John Varley marks the first time the head of a global bank has faced criminal charges for activities during the crisis, when big lenders across Europe and the US were being rescued by taxpayers.
The SFO charged Barclays yesterday with three counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and unlawful financial assistance over its arrangements with Qatari investors who ploughed a total of £6.1bn into the bank in June and October 2008.