Barclays Bank has a long history of conspiring with apartheid.
It was the focus of a boycott in the 70s and 80s in the fight against South African apartheid and has long been associated with Israeli business; even before October 2023 it was on the boycott list because of the extent of its support for Israel.
Since the start of the genocide, the situation is different. Not that the bank has voluntarily withdrawn its support for Israel (pigs might fly!) but it has intensified its support and doubled down on its alliance. So much controversy has this brought that the bank has issued a denial on its website. But this denial is disingenuous
The bank denies it has been βfundingβ the Israeli government. And it is true that it does not, as far as we are aware, give its own funds to the Israeli government. But it is one of seven banks worldwide that hold the key to the Israeli governments access to the international bond markets and so facilitates the financing of the Israeli war machine and the genocide of the Palestinian people. Please see this informative article from Banktrack that references reports that Israeli bonds issued since October 2023 have financed the βwarβ (sic) in the Gaza Strip
The legal position
In 2001 the UK government passed the International Criminal Court (ICC) Act. This replicates the provisions of the ICC and effectively brings its provision into UK law. Since that time it has been possible to report individuals for war crimes or acts that support those crimes.
This act applies to offences committed in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, as well as offenses committed outside the UK by UK nationals, UK residents, or persons subject to UK service jurisdiction. The relevant section is section 51 to section 55, in particular the directors of Barclays have taken decisions that are ancillary to war crimes, that is they are aiding and abetting war crimes.
Take Action: report Barclays directors for aiding and abetting a genocide
You can decide where responsibility lies but it is not with the desk clerk in your local Barclays branch! Have a look at the directors list for Barclays Leadership Group. Responsibility lies with three main directors – Nigel Higgins the chair;Β C.S Venkatakrishnan, the CEO; and Anna Cross the CFO. But the decision is yours.
Once you have decided who you would like to report, fill in the form here to report war crimes. There are some questions about what you are reporting and there is some guidance on what to say below. It should not take more than 30 minutes. If you can, please let us know if you do fill it in and what the result has been.
Once you hit submit, you may have to wait a while for a response but the important thing is you log your submission dates and all subsequent contact with SO15.
It is normal, said Lord Hoffman, in a landmark case that seriously narrowed the scope of a βnecessityβ defenceβ (where a small crime is justified to prevent another, much larger crime), for people to report a crime to the police. The implication being that the police will do something about it. Let’s see.
Appendix
Banks dealing in Israeli Government bonds
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Citi, Barclays, JPMorgan Chase
Double down
It was reported in the Financial Times in August 2024 that:
Barclays had planned to withdraw from future Israeli government bond auctions as it reviewed its exposure to the country following pressure from pro-Palestinian activists, according to a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Despite the review of its business with Israel, Barclays informed the countryβs officials on Tuesday that it will continue to broker Israeli government bond auctions, operating alongside other international banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, the FT report said.
Guidance for filing an SO15 war crime report
You will be asked on the SO15 form for your details and whether you witnessed the incident and where it took place
You will be asked about your role: witness, victim or other. Depending on your answer you may have different questions to answer. If you do not have Palestinian heritage, choose witness.
You will then be asked to give details of what you know about this βincidentβ. Our suggestion is something like this.
Directors of Barclays Bank, in particular the three senior directors of the group, are responsible for Barcalys Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli government debt. This is well documented (ββhttps://www.banktrack.org/news/seven_underwriters_of_war_bonds_instrumental_in_enabling_israel_s_assault_on_gaza_new_research_finds)
The International Criminal Court has said and many idependent NGOs have said that a genocide has been taking place in Palestine as a result of the actions of the Israeli Defence Force.
In addition multiple war crimes have been seen on social media and Televison and verified. Political leaders, some of whom are members of the government of Israel have signified their intent to wipe out or drive out the Palestinian population.
By deciding (and re-affirming in August 2024) to sell Israeli government debt, the bank has contributed to the procurement of weapons and the continued ability of the Israeli government to wage war. And they have done this in full awareness of the existence of war crimes being committed on a systematic basis by Israeli forces (i.e. crimes against humanity). All directors of the group are responsible for these decisions as individuals but in particular we could see that the Chair, The CEO and the Financial Directors of the group are key figures who have contravened the International Criminal Court Act 2001 by engaging in conduct that is ancillary to a war crime (s51 (1) ). These people are Nigel Higgins (Chair), C.S. Venkatakrishnan (CEO), Anna Cross (Finance Director)
To suggest that this is not ancillary and not a contribution to the Israeli war effort is disingenuous at best and a lie at worst. We have seen that the effort that is being undertaken to limit the supply of funds to the Russian government, and to expand the supply of funds to the Ukrainian government – both with the clear intent of limiting or enabling the government’s ability to undertake war, are clear indicators that supply of funds to the Israeli government aided and abetted their genocidal invasion of the Gaza Strip.
