Ex-Barclays chief John Varley’s position at Rio Tinto under scrutiny

John Varley’s future as a senior independent director at Rio Tinto was under the microscope today in the wake of the criminal charges against him and Barclays bank, where he was chief executive.

Rio did not give an official comment but it is understood the charge against him is likely to be discussed at the mining giant’s next board meeting.

Varley is also on the board of funds giant BlackRock as a non-executive director and was formerly on pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca’s board.

While he and the other three bankers charged will fight today’s allegations vigorously, the issue will put a cloud over their entire careers, even if they are cleared.

Others were racing to distance themselves from the allegations.

Marcus Agius, the Barclays chairman at the time of the controversial Qatar fund-raising, insists he had no knowledge of the alleged fraud.

Bob Diamond, the top Barclays banker who became chief executive after Varley, is building new businesses in Africa and the City.

He recently secured a deal to take over broker Panmure Gordon, one of the oldest and grandest names in the City.

In the City today, there was considerable sympathy for both the bank and the individual bankers.

Barclays shares slipped just 1p to 205p. Ian Gordon at Investec said the bank’s move to raise capital from Qatar was merely a function of its financial position.

A further headache for Barclays will be lawsuits from shareholders who will claim they were misled over the 2008 fund-raisings.

City law firm RPC said it is “actively reviewing the prospects for civil claims”.

Simon Hart, a partner at RPC’s banking litigation team, said: “The SFO’s case is that Barclays and the individuals charged falsely represented the true position with regard to the terms of the Qataris’ involvement in the fund raisings. Shareholders who subscribed for shares and suffered losses as a result of any deliberately misleading information or omissions deserve redress.