By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
FORMER Barclays CEO Jes Staley has lost his appeal against a regulator’s decision to fine him and ban him from senior financial roles due to his links with Jeffrey Epstein.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that Staley misled both the regulator and Barclays about the nature of his relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. In 2023, the FCA fined him £1.8 million and barred him.
Staley challenged the decision at the Upper Tribunal. However, the Tribunal dismissed his case.
“The letter claimed that Mr Staley did not have a close relationship with Mr Epstein. In reality, in emails between the two Mr Staley described Mr Epstein as one of his ‘deepest’ and ‘most cherished’ friends,” the FCA said.
Staley argued he had not tried to hide the relationship and described it as professional rather than personal. He claimed their final meeting took place in April 2015, months before he joined Barclays in December that year.
However, Tribunal judge Tim Herrington and tribunal members Martin Fraenkel and Cathy Farquharson issued a unanimous decision on Thursday. They upheld the FCA’s ban, but reduced the fine to £1.1 million. The reduction took into account Barclays’ decision to suspend Staley’s deferred shares after his 2021 resignation.
Links between ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley and Epstein
The FCA’s case centered on a 2019 letter to the regulator, approved by Staley. It stated he was not close to Epstein and had not contacted him before taking the Barclays job. But private emails showed Staley had described Epstein as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends. Records also revealed contact between them shortly before Staley became CEO.
The FCA said Staley had “recklessly approved” the letter, despite knowing it was misleading.
Following the ruling, FCA enforcement head Therese Chambers said: “Mr Staley chose to take a calculated risk that we would take his inaccurate account at face value.” She added that his actions showed “a serious lack of integrity”.
Staley has 14 days to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article
If you would like unlimited access to AML Intelligence premium articles, newsletter delivered twice a week, access to our Global Bank Fines and Penalties database, free access to Boardroom Series events and much more, select one of our subscription options and become a subscriber!
