A Nudge From JPMorgan Drove Probe of Staley’s Epstein Links
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(Bloomberg) -- A cache of documents provided by JPMorgan Chase & Co. was what led British regulators to begin an investigation into the links between Jeffrey Epstein and former Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, a court was told.
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JPMorgan informed the Financial Conduct Authority in November 2019 that it had identified “various documents” that showed the relationship between Staley, a former senior JPMorgan executive, and the late pedophile financier, according to a London court filing.
After being informed of the existence of the cache, the British regulator compelled JPMorgan to hand over the documents and opened a formal probe into Staley. That investigation ultimately led to his exit from Barclays and resulted in him being permanently banned from the UK financial services industry.
“This is what kicked everything off,” Judge Timothy Herrington said of the JPMorgan documents at a Monday court hearing in London to discuss Staley’s appeal of the FCA’s decision last year permanently banning him from the UK financial services industry.
A spokesman for JPMorgan and a representative for Staley declined to comment.
JPMorgan ended a legal claim against Staley last year as part of a wider settlement which saw the bank agree to pay out $290 million to a group of almost 200 victims of Epstein’s abuse and a further $75 million to the US Virgin Islands. The bank did not admit liability in either case.
The FCA case is likely to re-air much of the same evidence about Staley’s ties with Epstein that was raised during the JPMorgan litigation, as well as provide new details.
One such detail emerged Monday when it was revealed in a London court filing that Staley’s adult daughter, Alexa Staley, acted as a go-between for him and Epstein, despite Jes Staley’s claim that he cut ties with the sex offender after becoming Barclays CEO. Bloomberg News first reported in February that the men maintained contact through an intermediary, citing documents that were part of the US litigation against JPMorgan, but that person was not identified at the time.
A Monday court filing also said Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Barclays Chairman Nigel Higgins are expected to testify in the FCA case, which is expected to go to trial in March.