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US Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for urgent answers from Barclays over its handling of former CEO Jes Staley's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and has separately questioned JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon about the bank's contacts with the late sex offender. The moves come as Staley is due to be questioned by US lawmakers in a closed-door interview about his past relationship with Epstein.

In a letter sent privately to Barclays' chair, Nigel Higgins, and seen by the Guardian, Warren said it was "deeply unclear how Barclays, supposedly investigating Staley's connection to Epstein, failed to uncover this decades-long relationship." The letter, sent on behalf of Warren, Ro Khanna, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, gave Barclays two weeks to answer questions about how the bank handled information on the links between its former chief executive and Epstein, who died while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Warren, the most senior Democrat on the US Senate banking committee, described what she called Barclays' "apparent failure to meaningfully investigate" Staley's ties. The questions included whether the bank conducted reviews into "deficiencies" in its executive hiring process, which had "allowed the board to hire a CEO who held extensive professional and personal ties to a convicted sex offender."

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian reported on three separate but related developments: Warren's letter to Barclays, Staley's upcoming testimony, and Warren's letter to Dimon. Each story highlights different aspects of the ongoing scrutiny of Epstein's associates.

Warren's letter to Barclays focused on concerns arising from a UK court hearing last year, in which Staley unsuccessfully tried to overturn a regulator's decision to ban him from the British banking industry. The letter noted that Higgins had admitted he did not ask Staley about his last contact with Epstein before declaring to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that the last contact was "well before" the CEO joined Barclays.

"It appears that neither you nor any other member of the board conducted any deeper due diligence to verify Staley's claims and simply took him at his word," the letter said.

Separately, Staley is due to be questioned by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform as part of its investigation into Epstein. A transcript of Staley's interview is expected to be released at a later date, as the panel has done with previous witnesses, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and Goldman Sachs' former top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler.

Key Claims

  • Warren's letter to Barclays demanded answers on the bank's investigation into Staley's relationship with Epstein, giving the bank two weeks to respond.
  • Staley resigned as Barclays CEO in November 2021 after UK regulators launched an investigation into his ties to Epstein. Barclays initially said the pair "did not have a close relationship."
  • The FCA investigation, triggered by a cache of 1,200 emails from Staley's former employer JPMorgan, concluded that Staley and Epstein were "indeed close" and had a relationship that "went beyond one that was professional in nature."
  • Staley was banned from taking any job in the UK's financial sector for playing down his ties to Epstein.
  • Barclays said in a recent statement that the FCA concluded the bank was "misled by Jes Staley," and added that its own internal investigation was "based on the information that was available to us at the time."
  • During a court hearing challenging the ban, Staley admitted to having sex with a member of Epstein's staff in New York but described the intercourse as "consensual."
  • JPMorgan Chase sued Staley and reached a confidential settlement.
  • Warren's letter to Dimon asked if he took advice from Epstein while lobbying against a UK tax on banker bonuses. The letter cited a 2009 email in which Epstein asked former Labour minister Peter Mandelson if Dimon should lobby the UK's then chancellor, Alistair Darling, to dissuade him from introducing a proposed tax on banker bonuses.
  • Dimon told a court in 2023 that he had never met Epstein and had not heard his name until his 2019 arrest.
  • A cache of documents released by the US Department of Justice this year has piled pressure on Dimon and raised fresh questions about his links with Epstein.

Perspectives

Barclays

Barclays has stated that the FCA concluded the bank was "misled by Jes Staley" and that its internal investigation was based on information available at the time. The bank has not publicly responded to Warren's letter.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase has claimed that Dimon never met Epstein and was not involved in any decisions about his account. The bank has not commented publicly on Warren's letter.

Jes Staley

Staley has denied being dishonest about his relationship with Epstein. He was "disappointed" by the FCA's ruling and has since been banned from the UK financial sector.