SFO asks for private hearing in unfair dismissal claim by ex-Barclays banker

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has asked an employment tribunal to hear an unfair dismissal claim being brought by a former employee of Barclays Bank to be heard in private, according to an article in The Guardian.

The unfair dismissal case is being brought by Richard Boath, formerly chairman of financial services at Barclays, who has been interviewed by the SFO as part of a long-running investigation into whether Barclays breached regulations when the bank raised £7bn from investors in the Middle East during the financial crisis of 2008.

Few details about Mr Boath’s claim are known, although he is reported to be making the case under whistleblower protection laws. This means the potential payout is unlimited, unlike the £78,000 cap that applies to tribunals.

The SFO said it was “seeking orders that the hearings be held in private so as to preserve the confidentiality of the claimant’s interview by the SFO, and that there should be corresponding restrictions on the publication of such matters”. 

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