Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley slept with Epstein assistant, court hears

By Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Barclays boss Jes Staley had sex with a member of serial paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's staff, the banker told a court on the third day of his evidence as he appeals against a proposed financial services ban.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said in 2023 that it would ban Staley and fine him 1.8 million pounds ($2.3 million) for allegedly misleading the watchdog over his relationship with Epstein. He is giving evidence at London's Upper Tribunal this week.

The 68-year-old, who said on Tuesday that he had no idea about the late financier Epstein's "monstrous activities", was asked by the FCA's lawyer about evidence Staley had given in a lawsuit against him by his previous employer JPMorgan.

JPMorgan, where Staley was previously head of the private bank and had Epstein as a client, was sued by the U.S. Virgin Islands for allegedly ignoring Epstein's sex trafficking, with the bank in turn suing Staley before the case was settled.

In the U.S. litigation, Staley was asked about having "had sexual intercourse with a woman ... at Mr Epstein's brother's apartment" in New York, the FCA's lawyer Leigh-Ann Mulcahy said.

Staley said he was introduced to the woman by Jeffrey Epstein, the encounter was consensual and that "she was a part of his staff as I recall".

The FCA also referred to the fact Epstein had asked Staley to be trustee of his estate as evidence of their close relationship. Staley said: "I turned him down."

Staley's appeal centres on a 2019 letter sent by Barclays Chair Nigel Higgins to the FCA, which approached the British bank shortly after Epstein's arrest brought scrutiny on the financier's other high-profile associates.

The FCA says 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.

The FCA has cited 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".

In one previously-reported email chain from 2010, Staley told Epstein: "That was fun. Say hi to Snow White." When Epstein asked "what character would you like next", Staley replied: "Beauty and the Beast."

Staley said he had no recollection of those emails, after which Mulcahy said: "They are not emails that are consistent with a purely personal relationship ... they were personal in nature, weren't they?"

Staley replied: "I do not recall those emails." His evidence is expected to conclude on Friday.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)