A dozen former senior Barclays employees, among them two ex-chief executives, have been called in for questioning by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) under its new Director, David Green. Appointed in 2012, he vowed to ensure that the SFO would be “tough but approachable” and is seen as the man to move the organisation away from its long-standing reputation as the “Serious Farce Office”, as Private Eye memorably put it.
The move will be seen as a key test of the office’s new-found tough approach, although so far interviews have not been held with either former Chief Executive. The probe relates to the bank’s decision back in 2008 to decline government support, but rather to seek funding from Qatar. The prospect of bribery having taken place during these negotiations will be a major worry for Barclays who, since surviving the Financial Crisis in good shape, has been hit by profit losses and criticism from the public and the media relating to bonuses.
Green is known to have a no-nonsense approach and a drive to ‘stamp out’ corporate corruption, although he concedes that there is a wide difference between misconduct as a result of ‘dishonesty’ and misconduct through ‘negligence’. It is not clear what the line of questioning will be regarding the Qatar case, although he noted in an interview recently that Section 7 of the Bribery Act holds companies liable for “acts of bribery by its employees”. While the questioning is currently not being followed with any formal accusations, it will be enough to chill many at the bank, especially considering the comments of David Green and his widely acknowledged desire to show that the SFO ‘has teeth’.
Barclays may of course come out of the interviews with a clean slate, but this is a sure sign that the drive to enforce what is seen as more ‘ethical practice’ is starting to filter down from government rhetoric to actions. In such an internationalised banking sector as the UK’s, there will be a great many other institutions watching the SFO’s questioning of Barclays with interest and more than a hint of concern.