LONDON: Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) failed to take “reasonable and appropriate” steps to get key documents from Qatar’s US lawyers before a fraud trial of four former Barclays executives, a London criminal court heard on Thursday.
The jury was told that Judge Robert Jay had ruled in January on the SFO’s failure to obtain the documents from Latham & Watkins, before the start of the landmark court case against former Barclays CEO John Varley and former senior colleagues: Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath.
The men are on trial over side deals struck by the British bank when it raised more than 11 billion pounds ($14.5 billion) from investors, including Qatar, to stave off a state bailout in June and October 2008 at the height of the credit crisis.
Prosecutors allege the men, who are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, misled shareholders and other investors by not disclosing that Barclays paid an extra 322 million pounds to Qatar through advisory service agreements (ASAs) that were not genuine.
The men deny wrongdoing. In documents shown to the court during the prosecution’s case, they say they relied on legal advice at the time.
Boath, the only defendant to answer SFO questions in 2014 and 2016 that went beyond a prepared statement, was told the agreements were legal as long as Qatar provided valuable services, according to extracts of interview transcripts shown to the court. He said he was confident that Jenkins, who had the relationship with Qatar, would deliver, the court heard.
The flagship SFO case marks the first criminal charges filed in Britain against such senior bankers over credit crisis-era conduct. The trial has offered a rare glimpse into how Barclays battled to avoid state control by clinching a rescue deal with Qatar over a decade ago.
Qatar Holding, part of the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger, an investment vehicle of former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, invested around 4.0 billion pounds in Barclays in two capital raisings in June and October 2008.
In so-called “agreed facts” between prosecutors and the defense read out by the prosecution, the jury at Southwark Crown Court was told that the SFO had not interviewed or investigated either Qatari party.
The judge had also noted that although documents held by Qatar’s lawyers Latham & Watkins were probably covered by legal privilege, the SFO had had options to try and obtain them, the jury heard.
SFO investigator David Webb told the jury on Thursday it had taken 18 months to two-years to get “essential” documents from Barclays that the bank originally said were privileged — confidential advice by lawyers for clients — before it waived privilege.
The judge asked Webb if he had asked Boath whether the former director knew that the ASA was never intended to provide genuine services.
“I don’t know,” he said. “If I did say that it would be on the transcript.”
Prosecutors have now closed their case, marking the formal half-way stage in the trial. The judge dismissed the jury until April 1 to allow for lengthy “discussions of law” to begin, he said.
UK fraud office failed to get key Qatar documents for Barclays trial
UK fraud office failed to get key Qatar documents for Barclays trial
- Two Qatari companies invested around £4 bn in Barclays
- SFO investigator David Webb told the jury on Thursday it had taken 18 months to two-years to get “essential” documents
Aramco’s 13% rally helps Saudi stocks post second weekly gain
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco extended its year-to-date rally to nearly 13 percent on Thursday, helping the Kingdom’s benchmark stock index secure a second straight weekly gain despite a weaker final trading session.
Saudi Aramco shares, which carry the heaviest weighting on the Saudi Exchange, closed at SR26.86 ($7.16), leaving the stock 12.72 percent higher since the start of 2026. The stock also remained 3.09 percent above last week’s close, even after falling 1.1 percent in Thursday’s session.
The rise in energy shares came as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over supply disruptions.
The Tadawul All Share Index maintained its weekly uptrend, rising nearly 1.07 percent week on week to close at 10,778.32, despite falling 0.45 percent in Thursday’s session. Compared with the first trading day of the year, the index has gained 4.01 percent.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR5.05 billion at Thursday’s close, with 88 stocks advancing and 176 declining.
Aramco’s performance continued to anchor sentiment after the company reported adjusted net income of $104.7 billion for 2025 earlier this week, while net profit fell 12.1 percent year on year to $93.39 billion, compared with $106.25 billion in 2024, as lower crude prices weighed on earnings despite higher sales volumes across oil, gas and refined products.
On a March 10 earnings call, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could have severe implications for global energy markets. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway each day, but shipments have been largely blocked.
“There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets and the longer the disruption goes on ... the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” he said.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”
Saudi equities showed mixed performance in Thursday’s session. The MSCI Tadawul Index fell 5.99 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,476.76.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 132.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 22,370.4, with 38 stocks advancing and 34 declining.
On March 11, the International Energy Agency announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. As part of that, the US said it would release 172 million barrels starting next week.
