Ex-Barclays CEO Staley Fined $2.2M Over Epstein Ties

Staley’s family once flew on Epstein’s private plane, which the CEO later revealed to senior Barclays staff

Staley had detailed discussions with Epstein about his appointment at Barclays, including information he described as “very confidential”
Between July 2008 and October 2015, Epstein and Staley exchanged more than 1,700 emails, including one sent three days before Staley was named as Barclays CEO.
Staley has said his relationship with Epstein “began to taper off as I left JPM and contact became much less frequent in 2013, 2014,” before ending in 2015.

“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,” Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said in a statement on Thursday.

Barclays disclosed news of the regulators’ probe to investors in February 2020, but Staley was allowed to continue in his role until November 2021, when the bank was made aware of the FCA’s preliminary conclusions.

U.S. Actions

Thursday’s decision by UK regulators comes weeks after separate legal action over Epstein’s banking relationships wrapped up in the U.S.

JPMorgan reached settlements with Staley and the U.S. Virgin Islands in September, having agreed to pay $290 million to settle another lawsuit filed by an unnamed Epstein victim in June.

The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority said in a separate statement it supported the FCA’s decision. “It is imperative that senior managers act with integrity and are open and cooperative with the regulators,” a PRA spokesperson said.

In 2008, Epstein was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution by a Florida state court, and was arrested again in July 2019 on federal charges relating to, among other things, the sex trafficking of minors. The FCA “made no findings that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes.”

(Photo of Jes Staley: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg