London judge dismisses jury in landmark Barclays Qatar case

A London jury has been discharged in a landmark fraud trial of four former Barclays executives accused of paying Qatar undisclosed fees to help rescue the bank at the height of the credit crisis in 2008.

Judge Robert Jay told the jury at Southwark Crown Court on Monday he was required to discharge them. No further details were publishable due to continued reporting restrictions.

Former chief executive John Varley, Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath deny conspiring to commit fraud by false representation when Barclays raised more than 11 billion pounds ($14 billion) from investors in 2008, allowing the British bank to avoid a state bailout.

Prosecutors allege the bankers excluded from public documents and hid from other investors around 322 million pounds in fees paid to the Qatari investors through so-called advisory service agreements (ASAs).

The defendants said they had relied on legal advice during a two-part emergency fundraising in June and October 2008.