Ex-Barclays Boss Fined and Banned Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

Then-Barclays' CEO Jes Staley arrives at 10 Downing Street in London on Jan. 11, 2018. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Former Barclays boss Jes Staley has been fined over $2 million and banned from Britain’s financial services industry after misleading regulators and the bank about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement on Oct. 12 that it found Mr. Staley had “recklessly” signed off on a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA that contained two misleading statements about the nature of his relationship with Mr. Epstein and around the circumstances of their last contact.

The letter claimed Mr. Staley did not have a close relationship with Mr. Epstein, while emails between the two showed that the former Barclay’s boss described the convicted pedophile as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends.

Also, the letter from Barclays to financial regulators claimed that Mr. Staley had ceased contact with Mr. Epstein well in advance of his joining the bank. However, the FCA said that Mr. Staley had, in fact, been in contact with Mr. Epstein in the days leading up to his appointment at Barclays.

“A CEO needs to exercise sound judgement and set an example to staff at their firm. Mr. Staley failed to do this. We consider that he misled both the FCA and the Barclays Board about the nature of his relationship with Mr Epstein,” Therese Chambers, joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said in a statement.

The FCA has fined Mr. Staley $2.2 million and banned him from holding a senior management or “significant influence function” in the UK financial services industry.

“It is right to prevent him from holding a senior position in the financial services industry if we cannot rely on him to act with integrity by disclosing uncomfortable truths about his close personal relationship with Mr. Epstein,” Ms. Chambers added.

Mr. Epstein was found dead in a New York federal jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.

A number of high-profile individuals besides Mr. Staley—including former President Bill Gates and Prince Andrew—have faced scrutiny over their ties to Mr. Epstein or his victims.

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry on March 28, 2017. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services via Reuters

Mr. Staley Responds

Responding to the FCA’s decision to fine and ban him, Mr. Staley said in a statement to British media outlet The Telegraph: “If I had known who [Jeffrey Epstein] really was, there is absolutely no doubt that I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today. Prior to undertaking my former role, it was known that I had had a relationship with [Jeffrey Epstein].”

“I have worked tirelessly over the last 43 years and have genuinely supported many people [and] social causes, where others might not have done so,” he continued.

“I am very disappointed by the FCA’s decision and I will continue to challenge it. I will not comment any further until these proceedings are concluded.”

The FCA said in its notice that its decision to ban and fine Mr. Staley is provisional given that Mr. Staley has referred the FCA’s decision to an upper tribunal, where he will present his case.

Mr. Staley was forced to resign from the top job at Barclays in 2021 after the FCA announced preliminary conclusions of their probe into his ties with Mr. Epstein.

At the time, Barclays stated that Mr. Staley was stepping down and that he intended to contest the conclusions of the probe, which “makes no findings that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays’ support for Mr. Staley following the arrest of Mr. Epstein in the summer of 2019.”

The FCA’s investigation sought to examine Mr. Staley’s historical links to Mr. Epstein while Mr. Staley ran the private banking arm of U.S. investment bank JP Morgan.

Barclays said in February 2020 that Mr. Staley had offered an account of his business relationship with Mr. Epstein, and the bank’s board determined that Mr. Staley had been “sufficiently transparent” in describing his links to the deceased convicted sex offender.

JPMorgan Chase Angle

Elsewhere, JPMorgan Chase recently agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to resolve a lawsuit over the role the bank allegedly played in Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.

The settlement includes $30 million to support local charities, $25 million to strengthen law enforcement to combat human trafficking, and $20 million for attorney’s fees, the New York City-headquartered bank said Tuesday.

JPMorgan did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. It said the outcome was “in the best interest of all parties.”

“While the settlement does not involve admissions of liability, the firm deeply regrets any association with this man, and would never have continued doing business with him if it believed he was using the bank in any way to commit his heinous crimes,” JPMorgan said.

USVI Attorney General Ariel Smith called the settlement “an historic victory for survivors and for state enforcement,” although the territory is only awarded less than half of the amount it was demanding.

“It should sound the alarm on Wall Street about banks’ responsibilities under the law to detect and prevent human trafficking,” she added.

GQ Pan contributed to this report.