Former Barclays boss Jess Staley had sex with members of staff with serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, so the banker told the court on the third day of his evidence when he sues against the proposed financial services ban.
UK financial conduct officials said in 2023 it would ban Staley and fined £1.8 million ($2.3 million) for allegedly misleading watchmen about his relationship with Epstein. He is giving evidence this week at the Upper Court in London.
On Tuesday, the 68-year-old, who said he had no idea about the “strange activities” of late investor Epstein, was asked by an FCA lawyer about the evidence that Staley gave in a lawsuit against him by his former employer, JPMorgan.
JP Morgan, who previously headed the private bank and had Epstein as a client, was sued by the US Virgin Islands, allegedly ignored Epstein's sex trafficking, and the bank sued Staley before the lawsuit was resolved.
In a US lawsuit, Staley was asked about having sex with a woman in Epstein's brother's apartment in New York.
Staley said she was introduced to a woman by Jeffrey Epstein. The encounter was an agreement and said, “She was, as I remember, part of his staff.”
The FCA also mentioned the fact that Epstein sought Staley as evidence of their close relationship as a trustee of his property. Staley said: “I turned him down.”
Staley's appeal focuses on a 2019 letter sent to the FCA by the chairman of Barclays' Nigel Higgins, and approached the British Bank shortly after Epstein's arrest scrutinized other well-known fellow financial figures.
The FCA says the letter contained two misleading statements. Staley said, “We had no close connections with Epstein and his final contact was “before he joined Barclays in 2015.” Staley says both statements were accurate.
The FCA cites more than 1,000 email caches between Staley and Epstein, who describes their friendship as “deep” and calls Epstein “family.”
In one of the email chains previously reported since 2010, Staley told Epstein: Say hello to Snow White. ”
When Epstein asked, “What character do you want next?” Staley replied, “Beauty and the Beast.”
Staley said he had no recollection of these emails. After that, Marukahi said: “They are not emails that match purely personal relationships.
Staley replied: “I don't remember those emails.” His evidence is expected to end on Friday.
