Ex-Barclays CEO Staley did not mislead UK watchdog about Epstein, lawyer says

By Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) -Former Barclays boss Jes Staley did not mislead the UK's financial watchdog over his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Staley's lawyers said on Monday at the start of a London court case in which the former banker seeks to restore his reputation.

Staley appeared in court flanked by his lawyers as his appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority's intention to ban him from working in the UK finance industry indefinitely, and fine him 1.8 million-pounds ($2.3 million), began at London's Upper Tribunal.

The 68-year-old will next week be cross-examined over his relationship with Epstein, whose 2019 arrest for sex trafficking minors and subsequent death in custody brought scrutiny on the late financier's many high-profile associates.

Epstein's crimes have also prompted lawsuits against JPMorgan, where Staley was previously head of the private bank and had Epstein as a major client, and public figures like Britain's Prince Andrew as well as against Staley himself.

Staley has fought to clear his name since 2021 when he left Barclays, in response to the FCA's initial decision to take disciplinary action over a 2019 letter sent to the watchdog by Barclays.

The FCA said in 2023 that it intended to ban Staley as the letter contained two misleading statements: that Staley "did not have a close relationship" with Epstein and their last contact was "well before he joined Barclays in 2015".

Staley says both statements were accurate and that the pair had only a "close professional relationship", arguing his occasional visits to Epstein's private island or use of his private jet do not contradict that.

His lawyer Robert Smith said on Monday that the letter to the FCA "was never intended to provide a definitive description of the relationship".

The FCA's lawyer Leigh-Ann Mulcahy earlier said the watchdog does not allege Staley was aware of Epstein's crimes after the latter's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

She said in court filings, however, that Staley has "consistently mis-stated the nature of his relationship with Mr Epstein, in particular downplaying the closeness and extent of their connection".

OVER 1,000 EMAILS

The FCA's case centres on a cache of over 1,000 emails between Staley and Epstein, in which Staley described their friendship as "profound" and referred to Epstein as "family".

The emails also feature previously reported references to some of Epstein's other well-known associates, such as Peter Mandelson, now British ambassador in Washington, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Leon Black.

"Many people will have born the stigma of having to explain why they had a long standing and close association with Mr Epstein," Staley's lawyer Smith said in court filings. "Mr Staley does not stand in some unique position in this regard."

The FCA says the emails show Staley passed non-public information to Epstein while at JPMorgan and updated Epstein on his application for the Barclays CEO job.

Further emails obtained from litigation in the U.S. Virgin Islands suggests that Staley's daughter acted as an "intermediary" in 2016 and 2017, the FCA argues.

"Could you ask your dad if he would like to be considered for Treasury," Epstein emailed Alexa Staley in November 2016, weeks after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Staley's lawyers, however, say the fact Epstein initiated all five email chains with Staley's daughter demonstrates that Staley was no longer in contact with Epstein.

The appeal will hear evidence from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, who was FCA chief executive between 2016 and 2020, later this week. Barclays Chair Nigel Higgins is expected to enter the witness box next week, shortly before Staley.

($1 = 0.7942 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tobin and Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Susan Fenton)