Barclays allegedly made £346m in 'sham' payments to Qataris

Barclays is being accused of paying Qatari investors a total of £346m in secret and dishonestly characterising payments to secure the investors' participation in the bank's 2008 emergency fundraising, according to a £1bn lawsuit. Amanda Staveley's PCP, which invested on behalf of a senior Abu Dhabi royal during the Barclays £7.3bn cash call, has alleged in court documents that Barclays made the payments after the Qataris saw the value of an earlier investment in the bank plummet as the financial crisis took off; PCP is seeking £720m in damages plus interest and costs. This lawsuit reveals the frantic last-minute arrangements in the run up to the October 2008 deal, which allowed the bank to stay out of the control of the UK Government.

Barclays paid Qatari investors a total of £346 million in secret and dishonestly characterised payments as part of a "sham" to secure their participation in the bank's 2008 emergency fundraising, a £1 billion lawsuit brought by another key investor on the deal has alleged.

PCP, financier Amanda Staveley's company that invested on behalf of a senior Abu Dhabi royal during Barclays' controversial £7.3 billion cash call, has alleged in court documents that the bank made the payments after the Qataris saw the value of an earlier investment in the bank plummet as the financial crisis took hold.

The London lawsuit, which seeks £720 million in damages plus interest and costs, lifts the lid on frenetic last-minute arrangements in the run-up to the October 2008 deal, which enabled Barclays to stay out of the control of the British government but has come back to haunt the bank.

PCP accuses Barclays of making a £280 million secret payment to Qatar Holding that was never made public.

Ms Staveley, a one-time girlfriend of Prince Andrew and now financial fixer to sheikhs, has endorsed the claim on behalf of PCP, which accuses Barclays of making a £280 million secret payment to Qatar Holding that was never made public. That was in addition to a £66 million special payment that was disclosed but which PCP maintains was misleadingly characterised. The total payments of £346 million, described in the lawsuit as a "sham", are on top of the £300 million in fees that Barclays disclosed at the time it announced the deal.

PCP accuses Barclays of deceit and argues that Ms Staveley was promised the same deal offered to Qatar, relying chiefly on representations made by Roger Jenkins, then the bank's executive chairman of investment banking. He led the capital-raising for Barclays and she alleges he acted dishonestly.