LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Authorities in the UK are lookinginto an allegation that Barclays loaned Qatar money toinvest in the bank as part of its cash call during the height ofthe financial crisis in 2008, allowing the bank to avoid abailout, The Financial Times reported on its website onThursday.
The newspaper reported that two unnamed sources had told itabout the investigation into the alleged loan.
The Financial Services Authority and the Serious FraudOffice have been looking into Barclays' emergency fundraising.
Barclays confirmed in August that Britain's fraudprosecutors had launched a criminal probe into payments betweenthe bank and Qatar Holding, adding to an ongoing regulatoryinvestigation into dealings between the two parties.
A Barclays spokesperson told Reuters, "Both the FSA and SFOinvestigations are on-going, and as such we are unable tocomment further." The FSA would not comment when contacted byReuters.
Barclays (BARC)
