Sydney — Former Barclays CEO John Varley quit as a director of mining giant Rio Tinto on Wednesday, after being charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in Britain. He was among four senior executives from the bank charged on Tuesday by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office following a five-year investigation of emergency fundraising worth billions of dollars from Qatar during the financial crisis. The Anglo-Australian miner’s chairman, Jan du Plessis, said he had the "highest regard" for Varley, who has been on the Rio board since 2011. "I am very grateful for John’s outstanding contribution over the five or so years he has been on the board," he said. "The board holds him in the highest regard and will miss his valuable insight. "Personally, I am not only losing a senior independent director, but a close colleague, whose wisdom and support I am going to miss tremendously." Varley’s resignation as a nonexecutive director and chairman of the company’s remuneration committee will take immedi...
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