Law firm quit as Barclays adviser over Qatar loan fears

Law firm quit as Barclays adviser over Qatar loan fears:

"Linklaters, the big British law firm, resigned from advising Barclays over a controversial loan to Qatar at the heart of a $1bn lawsuit over fears it would be illegal, court documents have claimed. Barclays instructed the law firm to advise it on the $3bn loan it made at the height of the financial crisis, just as the Gulf state was investing in the bank as part of an £7.3bn emergency cash call to avoid a state bailout. But Linklaters quit the brief over worries that it “would involve unlawful financial assistance by Barclays for the purchase of its own shares”, it has been alleged. The fresh claims are contained in new documents filed this month in the High Court by PCP Capital Partners, the firm founded by financier Amanda Staveley, which is suing the bank over the events in 2008. PCP claims Barclays paid Qatar £2.4bn in secret side arrangements and undisclosed fees, which had the effect of limiting the amount of its own money that Qatar ploughed into the bank."



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