Deborah Staley has initiated divorce proceedings against her husband, Jess Staley, just over a year after he testified regarding her infidelity linked to the notorious financier and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
On March 13, Deborah filed for divorce in New York following decades of marriage to the former Barclays CEO. The details of the case are reportedly sealed.
Jess Staley, a former JPMorgan executive, faced a fine of approximately $1.4 million and a ban from the British financial sector last year for downplaying his connections to Epstein.
Staley has consistently claimed ignorance of Epstein’s criminal activities but acknowledged having consensual relations with one of Epstein’s staff members, mentioning he was “putting his marriage at risk” by being upfront about it.
The attorney for Staley did not provide immediate comments when approached for a response.
Staley and Deborah first crossed paths in the 1980s while both were employed at J.P. Morgan in Brazil. Deborah’s family established a Brazilian data center company, Aceco TI, which had a tough period after its sale to KKR & Co. in 2014, impacting Staley’s fortunes.
As CEO of Barclays, he defended his brother-in-law, who was laid off from Aceco post-acquisition, drawing KKR’s withdrawal from Barclays into the discussion.
Before ascending to lead Barclays, Staley spent 30 years at JPMorgan and maintained close ties to Epstein, who died in 2019 while in custody on sex trafficking charges.
Following accusations from Epstein’s victims that JPMorgan benefited from his illicit activities, the bank alleged Staley concealed significant information that could have led to Epstein being dropped as a client.
In 2023, the bank settled with both the victims and Staley over these claims.
Staley stepped down from Barclays in 2021 amid increasing scrutiny around his ties to Epstein.
Last year, he was banned from the British financial industry for misrepresenting their relationship; at one point, he referred to Epstein and Deborah as among his “deepest friends.”
Staley has continued to deny any wrongdoing regarding their friendship.
In a controversial appeal against the industry ban, he testified that Deborah had consensual relations with an Epstein staff member in New York, admitting it posed risks to their marriage, but that he was trying to be transparent.
The judge upheld the ban after this testimony.
Recently released Epstein files revealed he had requested a woman to procure a Snow White costume weeks before similar Disney-themed messages were exchanged between him and Staley.
In one email from 2010, Epstein expressed a desire to take a picture of the woman in the costume, to which Deborah later responded saying it was fun and greeted him as “Snow White.”
Staley denied recalling needing to refer to the woman in that manner during court proceedings.
Documents from the JPMorgan case also disclosed that Epstein maintained contact with one of the Staley daughters, Alexa, after Staley joined Barclays, sending numerous emails, including one that gauged interest in a potential Treasury secretary position during Trump’s initial term.
Alexa passed the message to her father, who simply replied, “Not yet, but thank you.”
