British bankers accused of a criminal conspiracy to pay secret multi-million-pound fees to Qatar claimed it was a “bit dodgy” to pay the Gulf state’s prime minister a slice of the money.
Senior officials at Barclays Bank said it was “wrong of a prime minister” to take fees as part of a £4bn deal struck with Qatar during an emergency capital raising project during the global financial crisis of 2008, a London court was told.
"It is what it is,” said Roger Jenkins, ex-head of investment banking in the Middle East, was recorded as telling a colleague. “But the point that's very well made here is you can't have the Prime Minister of Qatar as an adviser to Barclays Bank."
Four Barclays executives are accused of fraud over alleged efforts to hide £322m in commissions to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and an investment vehicle controlled by then prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.
Prosecutors say the bankers agreed to pay the money in return for major investments during two rounds of fund-raising in 2008 but sought to hide the fees as long-term “advisory services” for the Middle East region.
Two senior bankers discussed the fees in recorded conversations played to a jury at Southwark Crown court. Mr Jenkins – described as the gatekeeper to the Qataris – told a senior colleague that “It is a bit dodgy. You can’t as a Prime Minister, take these services.”
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Read more:
UK bank Barclays ‘dead’ without Qatar billions
British bankers ‘lied’ to hide Qatar payments
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The court was told that the bankers drew up a memo to try to hide what they were doing amid concerns they would be “rumbled” over the secret plan to pay Qatar commissions greater than any other investor involved in the £11.2 billion capital injection.
The memo was part of an effort to lay a “misleading audit trail” after senior bankers spoke of their fears of being jailed, a jury heard.
“This is one of these things where…. If you go down, the whole place goes down with you, right?” said Thomas Kalaris, the former head of its wealth management division, in a recorded telephone conversation with another executive.
Richard Boath, the bank’s former European divisional head, said: “Yeah, I mean obviously the jeopardy is that we’re rumbled and people say….this is just a fee in the backdoor”.
Prosecutors say that the executives tried to get around the problem by drawing up the memo which said that Qatar “upon reflection” would settle for fees of less than half that they had already agreed for their £2 billion investment.
In addition, the memo detailed a separate deal to develop “strategy and contacts” in the region in line with similar agreements with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in return for fees, according to documents shown in court.
“This memo was created in an attempt to lay a misleading audit trial,” said Edward Brown QC, prosecuting for the Serious Fraud Office. He said the memo was “false” and was designed to cover up the extent of the fees agreed between the two sides.
The successful capital raising operation through 2008 meant Barclays was able to avoid a UK government bailout, unlike rival lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds.
The private bailout meant that the executives did not lose “very large” bonus payments, the court has heard.
Former Barclays chief executive, John Varley, 62; Mr Jenkins, 63; Mr Kalaris, 63, and Mr Boath, 60, all deny conspiracy to defraud. The trial continues.
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Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:
- For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
- If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
- Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
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Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
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Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
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All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Brackets denote aggregate score
Tuesday:
Roma (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (2), 11.45pm
Manchester United (0) v Sevilla (0), 11.45pm
Wednesday:
Besiktas (0) v Bayern Munich (5), 9pm
Barcelona (1) v Chelsea (1), 11.45pm
Specs
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
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Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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