Barclays Share News (BARC)

Documents provided in a court case indicate that Barclays' role in the LIBOR-rigging scandal "goes further and wider than the regulatory findings", it has been alleged by lawyers acting for Guardian Care Homes (GCH).GCH is suing Barclays over interest-rate swaps in a test case that could in theory open the floodgates to similar claims by other companies that took out deals linked to LIBOR rates with other banks.GCH alleges that Barclays mis-sold it inappropriate interest rate hedging products based on LIBOR that ended up costing it a fortune as rates fell.Barclays denies mis-selling and says the LIBOR-rigging allegations are irrelevant to the dispute. The bank is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn an earlier ruling that GCH could amend its claim to include LIBOR-related allegations."Barclays continues to bury its head in the sand despite overwhelming evidence that the bank was manipulating LIBOR in order to profit from swaps," said Guardian Care Homes CEO Gary Hartland. "My swaps have cost me £12m so the suggestion that these allegations are irrelevant is fanciful."Barclays has already been fined $453m by US and British authorities last year over attempted manipulation of LIBOR rates. Transcripts of conversation between executives provided by GCH for the court case indicate that certain Barclays' executives knew the bank had submitted lower-than-accurate LIBOR rates. Other evidence implied a former Barclays' employee Quan Hui Lee had asked colleagues to enter lower rates.Quan Hui Lee e-mailed colleagues in London instructing them to "go get LIBOR down", according to e-mail evidence.Ian Pike, a Barclays employee in London who submitted rates, was cited as having written back: "I'll do my best boss!" TB