SFO Breaks New Ground With Barclays Criminal Probe – Alexander Weinberg Quoted in Law360
SFO Breaks New Ground With Barclays Criminal Probe – Alexander Weinberg Quoted in Law360
Wallace litigation partner, Alexander Weinberg, has been quoted in a Law360 article titled, SFO Breaks New Ground With Barclays Criminal Probe. The article discusses the charges brought by the SFO following its criminal probe commenced in August 2012 into commissions that Barclays paid to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund for the firm's advisory role, in two financing rounds totalling £11.6 billion ($18.4 billion at the time), at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008. On 20 June 2017, Barclays Bank PLC and four individuals, including former chief executive John Varley, were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance. They face Westminster magistrates on 3 July 2017.
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“This is a highly significant development concerning Barclays’ conduct in the immediate wake of the financial crisis of 2008. Criminal charges in respect of allegations of fraud and unlawful financial assistance are almost unprecedented in this context. Whether these charges spawn satellite civil claims remains to be seen but cannot be ruled out. Watch this space.”