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Former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has been banned from working in the UK financial sector after allegedly misleading regulators about his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday, the Financial Conduct Authority published a 79-page decision revealing new details that underlined the closeness of their bond. Here are five things we learned.
Staley sought Epstein’s advice during his talks with Barclays’ board
Staley had previously said that his contact with Epstein began to “taper off” after he left JPMorgan in 2013. But the FCA points to emails showing they remained in contact for at least two more years, including during the run-up to Staley’s appointment as Barclays CEO.
In July 2015, Staley told Epstein that he had been sounded out by a board member about taking the job at the UK bank and forwarded him several confidential emails commenting “here we go” and “it begins”.
Three months later in an email titled “Friendship”, Staley wrote to Epstein: “You never wavered in our friendship these last three years. That means a lot too [sic] me. [ . . .] Cross your toes!!!”. A few days later he notified Epstein the Barclays board had approved him.
No one at Barclays knew the American banker was sharing confidential information, according to the FCA.
A new cache of 600 emails while Staley worked at BlueMountain
Regulators secured 600 previously undisclosed emails between the two men while Staley worked at US hedge fund BlueMountain Capital, between his stints at JPMorgan and Barclays. They come on top of the cache of messages the Financial Times revealed in 2021 while Staley was at JPMorgan.
Staley sought to get Epstein to invest in a fund managed by BlueMountain — saying in one email: “You’re my first client!”
Other emails showed they spoke and met frequently during that period. Topics ranged from the prominent public and business figures Staley met, to invites to Epstein’s home and concerns from Epstein’s personal assistant the convicted sex offender has “ran [sic] out of the wine Jes likes”.
A ‘profound’ friendship, in Staley’s own words
“I owe you much. And I deeply appreciate our friendship. I have few so profound,” Staley told Epstein in 2009. Four years later, he reiterated this feeling, writing: “I can’t tell you how much your friendship has meant to me . . . To my most cherished friend, Jes.”
In 2015, Staley appeared to refer to the mythical battle of Troy, writing: “The strength of a Greek army was that its core held shoulder to shoulder, and would not flee or break, no matter the threat. That is us.”
When asked about these words, Staley told the FCA that he often used an affectionate and warm tone when speaking with business contacts and that he was “gaming the relationship” in order to make it appear they were closer than they actually were. He also said they were a form of “banter”.
‘More extensive’ interactions than previously thought
The regulator included a list of social interactions it said were “more extensive than Staley had outlined” before.
Staley travelled to Epstein’s island three times and his nearby private marina twice more. He went to Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, his house in Palm Beach, Florida for a birthday dinner and frequently visited his New York townhouse. The FCA said that many had “no obvious business or professional purpose”.
Staley also said he visited Epstein in Florida in 2009 when Epstein was serving a prison sentence for procuring a child for prostitution because he was a “loyal person” and “just to show support”.
A misleading presentation
In September 2019, Staley misled the Bowdoin College, where he was a trustee, after its governing board made inquiries into his ties with Epstein.
In talking points prepared with the help of Barclays executives, Staley said that “at no time after his conviction in 2008 did I allow [Epstein] any connection with any aspect of my professional life” and that “I had limited contact with him post his conviction”.
Staley insisted he “didn’t socialise with him”, “was wary and cautious”, adding: “at no time during my tenure at [BlueMountain] did I conduct any business with [Epstein]”.
These statements were “misleading in various aspects”, the FCA concluded.
Additional reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York
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