By: Ellen Cans
Jes Staley, the former CEO of Barclays, reportedly exchanged 1200 emails with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, as per the NY Post. Staley stepped down from his post on Nov. 1, following an investigation into his ties with Epstein.
Staley,64, has close to four decades of experience in the banking industry. He work at J.P. Morgan’s investment bank for 34 years, ultimately becoming CEO. In 2013 he moved to Blue Mountain Capital, and in December 2015, became CEO of Barclays, the British banking giant. The stash of email correspondences span four-years’ worth of conversations, between 2008 to 2012, and indicate a close relationship. As per the Financial Times, many of the messages in the cache were matter-of-fact, including discussions regarding news or plans meet for drinks.
There are, however, some mysterious messages which reference terms such as “snow white”, which have yet to be clarified. The cryptic references are present in two emails, which followed a meeting between Epstein and Staley. Regulators from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority haven’t yet determined the significance of the phrase, but are still investigating. Staley agreed to resign after Barclays received the FCA’s investigation results and Staley’s intention to challenge them.
The collection of emails were first given to US regulators by JPMorgan, and UK regulators started investigating Staley’s relationship with Epstein in 2019, as per sources for the Financial Times. JPMorgan declined to comment to the FT.
Barclays had previously claimed that the relationship between the two was “strictly professional”. Still, Staley remained in contact with Epstein for several years, even after the later was convicted of having sex with underage girls. Further, in 2015, only a few months before joining Barclays, Staley had visited Epstein on his private Caribbean island.
Kathleen Harris, a lawyer for Staley, said in a statement to the FT that all the emails were innocent. “We wish to make it expressly clear that our client had no involvement in any of the alleged crimes committed by Mr. Epstein, and code words were never used by Mr. Staley in any communications with Mr. Epstein, ever,” she said.
Staley previously said he “deeply regrets” his friendship with the pedophile, whom he first met in 2000 when he took charge of JP Morgan’s private banking division, when Epstein was “already a client” in NY. “Obviously I thought I knew him well and I didn’t,” Staley previously told reporters regarding Epstein. “For sure, with hindsight with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Jeffrey.”
