A senior HBOS banker from Barnsbury has pleaded not guilty to charges related to alleged corruption.

Mark Dobson, 53, of Brayfield Terrace, appeared at Southwark Crown Court alongside Lynden Scourfield, 51.

Both were senior managers in the Reading and London offices of the top bank and face charges linked to alleged kickbacks paid in return for business loans from a Reading branch of HBOS.

Eight others also appeared in the doc facing various allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraudulent trading in relation to an alleged £35m loans scam.

The defendants, all dressed in smart business suits, spoke only to confirm their names at the short hearing on April 25.

Dobson and Scourfield appeared in the dock alongside his wife Jacqueline, 51, consultants David Mills, 57, and Michael Bancroft, 70, their wives, Alison Mills, 48, Beverley Bancroft, 65, John Cartwright, 69, Roger Hawes, 53, and Jonathan Cohen, 53, who are believed to be associates of the two bankers.

Mills and Bancroft work for consultancy firm Quayside Corporate Services.

The charges follow an investigation carried out by Thames Valley Police’s Economic Crime Unit, following a referral from the Financial Services Authority.

The alleged offences originated from HBOS’s Impaired Assets team based at the Reading branch, where Dobson was a senior manager.

Dobson faces one count of conspiracy to corrupt, while Scourfield of Whitton Avenue West, Greenford, faces one count of conspiracy to corrupt, three counts of fraudulent trading, one count of money laundering and blackmail.

All ten are additionally charged with conspiracy to conceal criminal property.

A preliminary hearing is set for October 10 with the trial scheduled to begin in January, 2015.