SFO to make decision in Barclays case as soon as Tuesday, reports say

Regulators were expected to announce as soon as Tuesday whether they had decided to bring criminal charges against some bankers at Barclays in relation to its emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis, according to reports.

Launched in Augist 2012, the Serious Fraud Office's final decision had been postponed on several occassions, with the initial deadline having passed in March.

Thus far, no bankers nor the lenders themselves had faced criminal charges.

In mid-2008, just a few months before US investment bank Lehman Brothers went under, Barclays successfully raised £4.5bn of capital, followed by a further £7.3bn just a few months afterwards from various investors including Qatar Holding.

The move allowed it to avoid having to go cap-in-hand to the taxpayer.

The SFO is investigating alleged failings in the disclosure of Barclays's dealings with the Qataris.