The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged Barclays Bank PLC with “unlawful financial help” identified with billions of pounds brought from Qatari investors up in 2008.

Similar charges were purchased against Barclays PLC in June a year ago.

The move to charge Barclays Bank also is noteworthy on the grounds that it holds the banking permit that enables it to operate in various nations.

Along these lines, if Barclays was discovered blameworthy, it could lose that significant permit.

In 2008, to evade a government bailout, Barclays took a £12bn advance from Qatar Holdings.

Under that arrangement Barclays loaned £2.3bn back to Qatar Holdings and it is that piece of the transaction that the charge of unlawful financial help is identified with.

In a brief statement, the SFO said that £2.3bn loan was “for the purpose of directly or indirectly acquiring shares in Barclays Plc”.

In response, Barclays said: “Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC intend to defend the respective charges brought against them.

“Barclays does not expect there to be an impact on its ability to serve its customers and clients as a consequence of the charge having been brought.”

The SFO investigated the loans for a long time and the previous summer charged Barclays PLC and a few former officials with connivance to confer fraud.