Barclays Bank has been charged by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) with "unlawful financial assistance" relating to the raising of billions of pounds from Qatar in 2008. In 2017, Barclays took a £12bn ($16.7bn) loan from state-owned Qatar Holdings, then loaned £2.3bn back to the company. The SFO claims that this loan was used to purchase shares in Barclays, which it describes as “unlawful”. The same charges were brought against Barclays PLC in that year. Barclays Bank holds the licence that permits the firm to operate in different countries. If found guilty, this licence could be revoked.
Barclays Bank has been charged by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) with "unlawful financial assistance" relating to the raising of billions of pounds from Qatar in 2008. In that year, Barclays took a £12bn ($16.7bn) loan from state-owned Qatar Holdings, then loaned £2.3bn back to the company. The SFO claims that this loan was used to purchase shares in Barclays, which it describes as “unlawful”. The same charges were brought against Barclays PLC in 2017. Barclays Bank holds the licence that permits the firm to operate in different countries. If found guilty, this licence could be revoked.