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LONDON, Dec 1 (IFR) - A London court case in which one ofBarclays' most senior investment bankers is claiming unfairdismissal has been postponed until May.
Richard Boath, former co-head of global finance in EMEA, issuing Barclays in a pay dispute and for unfair dismissal. Heclaims he was fired due to what he told fraud investigatorsduring an investigation into the bank.
Boath was interviewed by the UK's Serious Fraud Office in acriminal investigation over the bank's fundraising with Qatarinvestors in 2008, and his lawyer said at the employment hearinglast week Boath was fired as a "direct response" of what he toldthe SFO.
The judge adjourned the hearing until May after more than aweek of discussions over whether reporting of the case should berestricted.
The SFO asked for the hearings to be in private, saying itcould prejudice any future charges it could bring against peopleinvolved. Barclays supported the application.
Thomson Reuters, the owner of IFR, is part of a mediaconsortium arguing for the hearing to be held in public.Reporting restrictions have been applied on the hearing.
The adjournment means the hearing is unlikely to be hearduntil after the SFO has decided whether to charge anyindividuals. It has said it expects to make any charges by theend of March.
Barclays' fundraising with Qatar and other investors in 2008enabled the bank to avoid taking a state bailout, but it hassince been criticised as not fully transparent. The SFO'sinvestigation centres on commercial agreements between Barclaysand Qatari investors.
Barclays paid £322m in fees over five years to Qatariinvestors under two advisory services agreements in 2008, anddetails of those payments were not disclosed.
The SFO interviewed Boath under caution and gave transcriptsof the interviews to Barclays.
Boath, most recently Barclays' chairman of the financialinstitutions group, left the bank in March. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Ian Edmondson)
