High flyer to pariah: the saga of Epstein-linked banker Jes Staley

n 1999, the future Barclays chief executive Jes Staley was gearing up for his biggest job yet. As head of JP Morgan’s private bank, he would be in charge of a sprawling team that managed money and investments for some of the world’s richest people.

Among them was the mysterious but well-connected billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he would quickly develop a “fairly close professional relationship”.

Staley was soon holidaying on Epstein’s private island, flying on his private plane, and gaining access to an impressive portfolio of ministers, entrepreneurs and royalty. The relationship ended up bolstering Staley’s profile on Wall Street and even connecting his daughter to senior figures at Ivy League universities.'

It also helped to end his career.

In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on child sex trafficking charges, accused of sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of girls at homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida. Some victims were as young as 14, US prosecutors alleged. Epstein, who was in jail as he awaited trial, was found dead in his prison cell weeks later.

The revelations about Epstein led to a media storm, bringing renewed attention to his former friends and business associates, including Staley. Barclays told the Financial Conduct Authority in October 2019 that the pair “did not have a close relationship” and were last in contact “well before” Staley took over as chief executive four years earlier.

But a subsequent FCA investigation, involving a cache of 1,200 emails from JP Morgan, convinced the regulator it had been misled. It alleged that the pair were indeed close friends and stayed in touch via Staley’s daughter for years after he joined Barclays.

It was not Staley’s first run-in with the FCA, having been fined £642,000 for trying to unmask a whistleblower in 2018. It was, however, the final straw: he was issued a fine of £1.8m and banned from holding senior management roles in the City in 2023, leading to him losing about £18m worth of pay.

The 68-year-old fought back in an appeal this spring, arguing that he had always been transparent with Barclays and had followed internal legal advice on the letter’s phrasing, which was meant to emphasise that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Judges on Thursday ruled in the FCA’s favour, upholding the lifetime City ban.

March’s two-week tribunal hearing in London also gave the first public account of Epstein’s role in Staley’s life. This is what the court heard.

The pair did not meet by chance, but on the recommendation of JP Morgan’s then chief executive, Douglas “Sandy” Warner, who felt that Epstein – already a client – was someone the newly appointed head of the private bank should know.

The pair “got on well”, according to Staley’s lawyers, and Epstein’s career-boosting potential quickly became clear. He would refer wealthy friends to Staley, many of whom turned into JP Morgan clients.

The two men occasionally socialised, Staley said, explaining that he would sometimes swing by Epstein’s home in Manhattan for a drink or dinner. And, from 2005, he took his family on the first of a handful of trips to Epstein’s Caribbean island, Little St James.

Staley was adamant that Epstein was never part of his inner circle, was never invited to the family home, any “milestone birthdays”, or “personal meals in restaurants”. Staley said he had few personal friends and remains a loner. “From what I recall, Jes didn’t have very many friends,” his former chief of staff Sasha Wiggins told the court in March.

And Staley said parts of Epstein’s life always remained a mystery. “I really didn’t know how much money he had,” Staley said. “What his background was, was always sort of shrouded.”

By 2006, the mask started to slip. Epstein was arrested after police in Florida were tipped off that he was recruiting young girls for massages and sexual encounters. He pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor and in 2008 he was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Staley stayed in contact, though, and visited Epstein after his indictment. He said Epstein did not deny that he solicited a prostitute, but maintained that he thought the girls were over 18. “Obviously he lied to me,” Staley told the court in March.

He visited Epstein again in around 2009, when he was on a prison work release programme in Florida. Staley said he reported the visit to JP Morgan, which was reviewing whether to keep Epstein as a client.

But emails suggest he had been leaning on the imprisoned Epstein for advice throughout the financial crisis, writing in October 2008: “I am dealing with the Fed on an idea to solve things. I need a smart friend to help me think through this stuff. Can I get you out for a weekend to help me (are they listening?).”'

The court heard that Staley turned to Epstein to help connect his daughter – a physics major – with scientists and senior professors at Ivy League universities. The financier, who Staley referred to as “Uncle Jeffrey”, would later be invited to her graduation in 2015. Staley stressed that he did not then know of Epstein’s crimes.

Wiggins told the court: “Mr Staley said to me once: ‘Why would I have introduced my wife and daughters to Mr Epstein if I thought he was a paedophile?’”

When Epstein was released on house arrest in July 2009, Staley was one of the four people he emailed to say: “Free and home.” Staley replied: “I toast your courage !!!!!”

But more cryptic messages between the two stirred the most controversy, including an exchange about Disney princesses in July 2010. “That was fun. Say hi to Snow White,” Staley wrote. “What character would you like next?” Epstein asked, to which Staley replied: “Beauty and the Beast.” “Well one side is available,” Epstein responded. Staley told the court he was not able to explain the exchange.

Months earlier, in September 2009, Epstein emailed a woman to say: “Jes staley is staying at the berkeley hotel in London tonight.” Staley said he could not recall the reason behind the message.

That year Staley’s career took another leap, with his promotion to lead JP Morgan’s investment bank. Even the chief executive, Jamie Dimon, was singing his praises, telling Fortune magazine: “Jes has impeccable character and integrity.”