LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Barclays loaned Qatariinvestors $3 billion to help finance an emergency fundraising atthe height of the credit crisis in 2008, court documents filedin London on Thursday allege.
The case brought by Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partnersalleges that the bank failed to disclose the loan, which wasused to buy Barclays shares, and that it paid Qatar 346 millionpounds ($459 million) in additional fees and payments.
The share sale was "a fraud on its shareholders", thelawsuit said.
"Contrary to the manner in which Barclays presented theQatari participation in the October 2008 capital raising to themarket, in fact the Qatari investors' entire investment wasfunded by Barclays," the court documents said.
Barclays denied any wrongdoing in the case over the bank'semergency fundraising from Gulf investors at the height of thecredit crisis, which allowed it to avoid a state bailout.
"We believe the claim against Barclays is misconceived andwithout merit and Barclays will be vigorously defending it," thebank said.
Businesswoman Staveley, who played a prominent role in AbuDhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayad al Nahayan's investment inBarclays at that time, is suing the bank at the High Court inLondon.
Staveley alleges in the lawsuit that she was given a writtenand verbal promise by Barclays staff that her syndicate wouldget the same terms as Qatari investors, whereas in fact theQataris received extra fees to the tune of 346 million pounds.
Her PCP private equity group is claiming $1 billion plusdamages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in a civil casethat hinges on the terms Qatari and Abu Dhabi investors receivedfor helping Barclays raise about 7 billion pounds in total.
The case is unfolding months before the Serious Fraud Office(SFO) is due to decide whether to charge Barclays and formerexecutives in a separate criminal inquiry into financialarrangements with Qatar.
($1 = 0.7536 pounds) (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by David Clarke)
Barclays (BARC)