By Charlie Conchie
The City watchdog said it will fine Barclays £50m today for failing to disclose fees paid to Qatari investors as it scrambled for emergency cash during the 2008 financial crisis.
The British bank looked to raise funds from a number of investors during the crisis, but failed to disclose ‘advisory agreement’ fees to Qatari investors involved in the deals, the Financial Conduct Authority said.
Barclays has referred the decision to the watchdog’s upper tribunal, Reuters reported, which will determine whether to uphold the fine.
Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, said Barclays paid “hundreds of millions of pounds in fees” to certain Qatari investors so that they would contribute new capital but did not inform the market or investors.
“Barclays’ failure to disclose these matters was reckless and lacked integrity and followed an earlier failure to disclose fees paid to Qatari investors in June 2008,” he said.
“There was no legitimate reason or excuse for failing to disclose these matters, certainly no basis for doing so because of the financial crisis.”
Barclays has been contacted for comment.
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