1000 emails and a letter: The ex-bank CEO with links to Jeffrey Epstein in the case that has gripped London

But the FCA says that Staley maintained contact with Epstein through his eldest daughter, who acted as an intermediary through the spring of 2017. In one instance, Epstein emailed Alexa Staley in November 2016 to gauge his interest in becoming Treasury Secretary in the first administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Fit and proper

For the regulator, the case is also a test of its ability to enforce its own rules on financiers being “fit and proper” to work in the industry.

“This is an important case about those duties, and about the conduct required of individuals who hold senior roles in the sector and who set an example to staff at their firm,” the regulator’s lawyers said. “The Authority wishes to make clear that it is not seeking to embarrass Mr. Staley and is not inviting the Tribunal to infer involvement in or knowledge of any misconduct on the part of Mr. Epstein.”

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges, including procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. He died while in jail on separate charges in 2019.

Staley, 68, stepped down from Barclays in 2021 and was banned from the sector about two years later. He has long downplayed his friendship with Epstein. The FCA’s investigation was neither fair nor impartial, his lawyers said, noting that the Barclays letter was drafted by the bank’s legal counsel and sent to chairman Nigel Higgins for approval.

Staley says that the letter “was not intended to define the relationship” between himself and Epstein and was simply the bank’s response to a “very narrow and restricted” request from the regulator.

“This is a remarkably short letter dealing with such an important request,” Robert Smith, Staley’s lawyer said.

Officials at the bank were responding to a verbal enquiry “as to what steps had been taken by Barclays to satisfy itself in the relationship,” Smith said. “The letter as drafted had no wider purpose.”

Staley and Epstein’s past

Staley’s long tenure at JPMorgan Chase & Co will also be a part of the case. He spent more than 30 years at the Wall Street giant, running its private bank for several years.

Epstein was a client of JPMorgan’s private bank for more than a decade despite attempts by some of the firm’s compliance staff to cut ties with the late financier over alleged links to sex trafficking and abuse of young women. Even after pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges, including procurement of minors to engage in prostitution, Epstein remained a customer — helped in part by Staley’s efforts in vouching for him.

Months after Staley left the bank in January 2013, Epstein was finally dropped as a client.

It was JPMorgan’s tip-off to the FCA that first prompted the regulator’s investigation. The US bank is sending a team of lawyers to the courtroom, who may speak on matters concerning the firm. JPMorgan ended a legal claim against Staley in 2023 as part of a wider settlement that saw the bank agree to pay out $US290 million ($465 million) to a group of almost 200 victims of Epstein’s abuse and a further $US75 million to the US Virgin Islands.

The bank did not admit liability in either case.

Epstein’s relationships remain a focus outside the UK as well. US Attorney General Pam Bondi on February 27 said she authorised the official release of the documents related to the deceased financier. The move followed pressure from congressional Republicans and Democrats and some of them were heavily redacted. The Justice Department said at the time that the information “largely contains documents that have been previously leaked.”

Among the witnesses called by the Financial Conduct Authority in the four-week trial are some of the biggest figures in London’s finance scene including Andrew Bailey, who led the FCA before he became governor of the Bank of England, and Barclays chairman Higgins. Both were involved in a crucial meeting when regulators started asking tougher questions about how Staley characterised his relationship to Epstein.

The hearing is due to continue until April 3.

Bloomberg, Reuters

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