The trial of four former Barclays executives begins | News from the United Kingdom

Four former Barclays executives appeared in court for fraud in the bank bailout by Qatar for several billion pounds sterling during the 2008 financial crisis.

John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays, is the first bank boss in the world to face a jury trial with alleged crimes during the global financial crisis that took place ten years ago.

Ed Brown QC, suing on behalf of the Serious Fraud Office, said the case would consider "how the people at the top of the bank reacted to the pressure it's created".

Brown claimed that Varley and other former Barclays executives were "very eager" to avoid a government bailout and they took the extreme step of "disguising and hiding" nearly a third of the billions of dollars in debt. Paid to Qatari investors in exchange for pumping billions into the UK bank.

"It was very clear to the defendants that the only way to secure the investment of the Qataris, but also to avoid paying others at the same rate or to have a weak market, was to pay Money requested by the Qataris. [and] to hide the real market position, "Brown said.

The four defendants deny the charges and claim that the additional fees were paid for "real" consulting services (ASAs) provided by Qatari investors.

Brown said the ASAs were "nothing more than a smoke screen" to try to "legitimize what had happened before".

"These agreements were really not real service contracts," Brown said. "These are dishonest mechanisms to hide extra fees paid to Qataris for their investment."

The four men – Varley, who was CEO of Barclays between 2004 and 2011; Roger Jenkins, formerly Head of Barclays Capital Investment Banking Division; Tom Kalaris, who was the head of Barclays' wealth management division; and Richard Boath, the former head of its group of European financial institutions – have been accused of conspiring to commit fraud by making false statements. Varley and Jenkins face an additional charge related to a second round of fundraising.

The trial continues in the Southwark District Court in central London.