Ex-Barclays chief govt Jes Staley’s fame was “irretrievably broken” by the monetary watchdog’s determination to ban him from high jobs within the Metropolis over his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a tribunal has been informed.
Mr Staley informed the Higher Tribunal that he was “professionally pretty shut” to Epstein throughout his profession within the finance trade, however stated they have been “not private mates”.
The Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Mr Staley £1.8 million and banned him from holding senior roles within the monetary sector in 2023 after discovering he didn’t disclose “uncomfortable truths about his shut private relationship” with Epstein.
It discovered Mr Staley acted “recklessly” by approving a letter despatched by Barclays to the FCA stating that he and Epstein weren’t shut, and that they ceased contact “nicely earlier than” he joined the financial institution in 2015.
The previous financial institution chief is now difficult the watchdog over its findings and the ban, and started giving proof on the tribunal on Monday.
In a witness assertion, he stated: “My fame has additionally been irretrievably broken, not least due to the publicity which has been attendant upon the FCA’s actions.”
He continued: “The FCA took probably the most severe and drastic step that it may, ending my lengthy and distinguished profession in monetary companies, and destroying my fame with out first asking me for a proof for any perceived discrepancy.”
Mr Staley, who ran Barclays from 2015 to 2021, acted as a non-public banker to Epstein throughout his time at JP Morgan, the place he labored for greater than 30 years.
Epstein was jailed for baby intercourse offences in 2008 and was arrested once more in 2019. He died in jail that yr whereas awaiting trial for sex-trafficking offences.
Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC, for the FCA, beforehand informed the tribunal Mr Staley described Epstein in emails as like “household” and one in all his “deepest” and “most cherished” mates.
She additionally stated that between March 2016 and February 2017, Mr Staley’s daughter, Alexa Staley, was used as an middleman.
However Mr Staley claims he had no contact with Epstein when he joined Barclays in December 2015 and described their relationship as “predicated upon enterprise”.
In his assertion, he stated: “I might describe my relationship with Mr Epstein as being ‘professionally pretty shut’.
“It was knowledgeable relationship which was predicated upon enterprise. We weren’t private mates, nor have been we personally shut.
“Relationships evolve and should not static, however once I described my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein to Barclays and to the FCA, I believed this was probably the most correct and useful definition.
Source link