{
  "id": 6507372,
  "title": "Barclays faces legal scrutiny over role in £90m ‘Ponzi scheme within a Ponzi scheme’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/barclays-faces-legal-scrutiny-over-role-in-90m-ponzi-scheme-within-a",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-10T00:36:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/barclays-faces-legal-scrutiny-over-role-in-90m-ponzi-scheme-within-a-ponzi-scheme/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Barclays may face up to £37 million in legal repercussions due to its involvement in a collapsed \"Ponzi scheme\" referred to as Denaro. The financial services giant provided banking services to Denaro between 2013 and 2023, during which time the company amassed more than £90 million in claims from creditors, including numerous retail investors who suffered significant losses. Denaro, originally established in Liverpool by an IT professional, car mechanic, and carpet salesman, all lacking financial expertise, attracted individuals to invest in their \"loans\" that promised a 3% monthly return. The founders, however, allegedly misappropriated investor funds using Barclays accounts to fund other speculative schemes and Ponzi operations, some of which later turned into Ponzi schemes as well. Barclays' banker Andrew Wileman, who acted as a relationship manager for Denaro, is accused of aiding the founders in their breach of fiduciary duty by facilitating millions in transactions without raising red flags. A judge recently permitted the case to proceed, leaving Barclays responsible for its role in the transactions. Nearly 1,000 British investors collectively contributed over £41 million to the scheme at its peak, many of whom have expressed their dissatisfaction with Barclays' involvement on social media.",
  "summary": "Barclays could be on the hook for as much as £37m over its role in a collapsed ‘Ponzi scheme’ after failing to dismiss claims brought by the company’s liquidators. The FTSE 100 finance giant provided banking services to a company called Denaro from 2013 until its demise a decade later, at which point it faced [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "Barclays provided banking services to Denaro from 2013 to 2023",
    "Denaro attracted investors with 3% monthly return promise",
    "Barclays banker Andrew Wileman aided Denaro's fiduciary breach"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The court's decision to let the case proceed puts Barclays at risk of a significant financial hit and raises questions about its oversight and due diligence on high-risk clients.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}