SFO Charges Barclays For Unlawful Assistance

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charges Barclays Bank PLC for unlawful financial assistance. Acxording to the charges against Barclays Bank by SFO, the bank helped in raising  billions of pounds from Qatar in 2008. Barclays faced similar charges in June last year too.

This moove was very crucial considering the licence held by Barclays that allows it to operate in different countries.

In 2008, Barclays borrowed a loan of  £12bn from Qatar Holdings. Under the same deal, Barclays loaned £2.3bn back to Qatar Holdings. As per SFO this loan was used to buy shares in Barclays which as oer the law is allowed.

The bank will face trial in 2019. It is the first British bank to face a criminal trial related to its conduct during the financial crisis.