It is being reported in the press1 that Barclays has been invited by the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the possibility of entering into a deferred prosecution agreement ('DPA') in relation to the long-running investigation into its dealings with Qatari investors. If this is correct, this is the first step in a long process that could result in the UK's first DPA. To date, no DPAs have been entered into since their introduction in February 2014. Barclays have reportedly denied receiving a formal offer of a DPA.
For more information on the DPA process, please see our practical, working guide.
1 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec27fa74-2fac-11e5-8873-775ba7c2ea3d.html, http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/21/sfo-mulls-barclays-deal-over-banking-crisis-funding, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article4504602.ece.