The four Barclays executives on trial for fraud over the bank’s 2008 crisis-era fundraising, led by former chief executive John Varley, paid extra fees to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in return for £4bn of bailout cash and concealed these payments from other investors, prosecutors have alleged.

The trial of the four bankers — Varley, Roger Jenkins,  Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath — kicked off in earnest on January 23 with opening arguments from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.