Top line
Former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley was on Thursday banned from holding senior roles in financial services and fined more than $2 million by Britain’s financial regulator, after regulators said Staley “recklessly misled” the company and the watchdog agency about his relationship with a convicted sex offender. Jeffrey Epstein.
The Financial Conduct Authority said Jes Staley had “recklessly misled” the firm and regulators about … [+]
Highlights
The Financial Conduct Authority said On Thursday, its investigation into Staley concluded that he “recklessly approved” letters sent to the agency by Barclay’s board that contained “two misleading statements about the nature of his relationship” with Epstein, with whom Staley was linked while working as a banker for JPMorgan Chase.
The letter claimed that Staley confirmed to the board “that he did not have a close relationship” with Epstein, a statement the agency said was false because Staley had informed Epstein of his appointment as chief executive of Barclays before it was publicly announced in 2016, which Staley “understood was “very confidential.”
Staley and Epstein also exchanged more than 1,100 emails, according to the agency, including some in which Staley described Epstein as one of her “deepest” and “dearest” friends.
The letter also states that Staley last contacted Epstein “well before” Staley joined Barclays, although Staley and Epstein remained in contact by email until three days before Staley was named CEO, it said. the agency.
The agency said it “does not conclude” that Staley knew of Epstein’s crimes, and Staley has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s behavior.
Barclays said in a statement that the company was seeking to recover or reverse approximately $22 million in compensation that Staley had already been paid or was about to receive, according to the Financial Times.
Staley told the Wall Street Journal through his lawyer, he will challenge the FCA’s decision, adding that before Staley took over as CEO of Barclays, “it was known that I had had a relationship with [Epstein]
.”
Crucial quote
A decision to ban Staley is necessary “if we cannot count on him to act with integrity in revealing uncomfortable truths about his close relationship with [Epstein]”, the agency said.
Key context
Staley resigned as CEO of London-based Barclays in November 2021, following a regulatory investigation into his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Staley was sued by JPMorgan earlier this year, after bank officials claimed Staley hid his relationship with Epstein – who was a client of the bank between 1998 and 2013 – and knew about the Epstein abuse. JPMorgan claims Staley failed to disclose Epstein’s sexual misconduct to the bank, adding that Staley “repeatedly abandoned the interests” of the bank “in pursuit of his own personal interests and benefits and those of ‘Epstein. At the time, JPMorgan was the subject of a civil suit by prosecutors in the U.S. Virgin Islands, following allegations that the bank benefited from sex trafficking Epstein while he was a client. Emails revealed in the lawsuit contain messages between Staley and Epstein, including some redacted emails which allegedly contained photos of “young women in seductive poses,” prosecutors said. JPMorgan finally settled the U.S. Virgin Islands lawsuit for $75 million last month, and settled its Staley lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
Further reading
Jamie Dimon spoke repeatedly about Jeffrey Epstein with the former JPMorgan executive, according to a report (Forbes)
JPMorgan is suing former executive Jes Staley for his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein (Forbes)