Barclays General Counsel Bob Hoyt improperly used a copy of an interview given by Richard Boath in a criminal investigation to fire the executive, Boath’s lawyer told a London employment tribunal Friday.G

“Part of our case is that Mr. Hoyt, the bank’s general counsel, was given a copy of the transcript to use for the criminal process and used it for another purpose - to fire Mr. Boath.”

Barclays and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office are fighting to have an employment suit filed by Boath against the bank heard in private because he is a suspect in an SFO investigation. Cohen’s comments were made on the 5^th day of a 7-day hearing, with the trial yet to start. The bank claims another person who hadn’t seen the 800-page transcript of the interview chose to fire Boath.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL CASE.    Boath, 57, is suing Barclays over pay, unfair dismissal and whistle blowing. His claims relate to what he told the SFO in a 2014 interview about his involvement in a 2008 fundraising by the bank from Qatari investors, which is the subject of a criminal investigation, and for which he claims he was fired. The SFO is seeking to keep the lawsuit private because of concerns over "witness contamination" as it nears the end of its probe. Barclays has joined forces with the SFO to keep the case out of the public domain.