Amanda Staveley loses fight with Barclays over secret Qatar deal

Judge accuses bank of 'serious deceit' but declines to pay UK businesswoman any damages

Amanda Staveley lost her legal battle against Barclays Bank over a 2008 fundraising operation. Getty Images

The British financier Amanda Staveley has lost her £1.6 billion legal battle against lender Barclays despite a judge finding the bank guilty of "serious deceit" over an investment deal with Qatar at the height of the global financial crisis.

Ms Staveley, 47, said she had been vindicated over claims that senior bosses at the bank lied to her during a 2008 fund-raising operation to secure the ailing bank’s future out of UK government control.

But a High Court judge found that Ms Staveley’s company PCP Capital Partners would have been unable to raise enough money to be part of the rescue plan and said she was not entitled to damages.

“I can understand why this outcome will be a serious disappointment to PCP, especially after I have found Barclays to be guilty of serious deceit,” said Mr Justice Waksman in the ruling.

The case concludes a 13-year saga that started with the bank desperate to stave off government control during the financial crisis. The fallout from the deal landed executives in the dock of a criminal court in a case that exposed sexism and bad behaviour in the City of London.

The bank was accused of giving preferential rates to Qatari investors to ensure their involvement in a fund-raising operation to secure the bank’s future.

The bankers, including Middle East investment chief Roger Jenkins, were cleared of criminal wrongdoing in February last year, clearing the stage for a new battle between the bank and Ms Staveley.

Ms Staveley said she was considering an appeal against the ruling.

“The judgment confirms what I have said from the outset and repeated in my evidence; a senior executive at Barclays repeatedly lied to me when seeking private investment in the bank during the 2008 financial crisis,” she said.

“I will be taking advice on appealing the Judge’s decision not to award damages.”

A Barclays Bank spokesman said: “We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss PCP’s claim in its entirety and award it no damages.”