3 Former Barclays Executives Are Cleared of Fraud Charges

LONDON — A jury acquitted three former Barclays executives on Friday of fraud charges related to the British bank’s efforts to raise $15 billion worth of financial lifelines from Qatar and other investors during the 2008 global financial crisis.

The verdict dealt a major blow to efforts by British regulators to hold bank executives accountable for their actions during the crisis. The case was one of the most prominent brought by the Serious Fraud Office, an anticorruption watchdog. The lengthy investigation, which has lasted for over seven years, was the first criminal trial in Britain over actions bankers took during the crisis.

The regulator had accused the executives — Roger A. Jenkins, Thomas L. Kalaris and Richard W. Boath, all of whom had held senior positions in investment banking or wealth management at Barclays — of lying to the public markets about investments made in the bank by Qatar and other foreign investors.

Barclays’ ability to secure private investments during the crisis helped it to avoid the government bailouts that rivals like the Royal Bank of Scotland were forced to take, which have left them struggling to this day.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/business/dealbook/barclays-fraud-trial.html