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| - A UK court on Friday acquitted three former Barclays executives of conspiracy to commit fraud over the British bank's emergency fundraising from Qatar during the 2008 global financial crisis. It follows an acquittal last year over the affair of former Barclays chief executive John Varley. On Friday, Richard Boath, Roger Jenkins and Thomas Kalaris were themselves found not guilty at a retrial in London. The trio, all in their early 60s, "were today acquitted of fraud in the UK's first trial of bank executives for misconduct during the 2008 financial crisis", Britain's Serious Fraud Office, which had brought the case, said in a statement. "Our prosecution decisions are always based on the evidence that is available, and we are determined to bring perpetrators of serious financial crime to justice," added the SFO after the three men were found not guilty at London's Old Bailey court. The fraud office's charges had concerned emergency funding secured from Qatar more than a decade ago. To avoid asking the UK government for a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis, Barclays raised nearly £12 billion from investors in the Middle East, including the Qatari state sovereign wealth fund. As part of the deal, Barclays loaned $3.0 billion to the State of Qatar. bcp/rfj/lc
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