Barclays bosses pocket £27million after selling off share bonuses

Windfall: Rich Ricci at the races Windfall: Rich Ricci at the races Adam Sorenson EIGHT Barclays bosses have pocketed more than £27million by cashing in shares they were given as bonuses. Rich Ricci and Jerry del Missier, who head up the firm’s investment banking arm, raked in the most. Ricci got more than four million shares on Tuesday for bonuses stretching back to 2006. He sold them straight away, making £9.7million on top of his pay and perks. Del Missier received 4.5 million shares, which he sold for £10.8million. Yet profits in the bank’s investment division slumped by 23% last year to £3billion. Chief executive Bob Diamond sold a relatively modest £70,000 worth of shares, Barclays revealed yesterday. But he is still sitting on £31million worth of shares and bagged £6.3million in pay and his annual bonus last year. Chief Executive of Barclays Bob Diamond Cash boost: Bob Diamond PA Elsewhere, group finance director Chris Lucas sold £1.4million worth of shares on Tuesday and Antony Jenkins, chief executive of retail and business banking, £1.8million. Last month, Barclays reported a 3% fall in profits to £5.9billion last year and said bonuses for senior executives would be down by 48%. And last week it said two high flyers got a bigger package last year than even Mr Diamond – with £6.7million and £6.5million. However, insiders denied reports the pair were Rich Ricci and Jerry del Missier. Simon Chouffot, of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said the share payouts were an “insult to the British public”. He added: “George Osborne needs to show at the Budget next week he is on ordinary Joe’s side by taxing Rich Ricci and the privileged few.” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said top bankers lived in a “parallel universe”. He added: “These bankers also managed to pay far less tax than they would have done if their bonus had been in cash, not shares.” Ricci was celebrating another £23,969 winner’s bonus last night after his horse came in at the Cheltenham Festival. He danced a jig of delight as 16-1 Champagne Fever claimed the Champion Bumper after leading from the start.