Barclays chief Jes Staley resigns over Epstein investigation

Barclays CEO Jes Staley resigned following an investigation into how he described his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The UK financial supervisor and the Bank of England have investigated Staley’s ties to the deceased financier.

Barclays said it was informed of the findings of that investigation on Friday and that Mr. Staley allegedly contested them.

The bank said so and Mr. Staley decided to step down, but Barclays said he was “disappointed with this result”.

Barclays added: “It should be noted that the investigation did not lead to any conclusions that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central issue underlying Barclays’ support for Mr. Staley following the arrest of Mr. Epstein in the summer of 2019. “

He added that the regulatory process had yet to run its full course and it was not appropriate for Barclays to comment further on the preliminary conclusions.

Mr. Staley was previously at JP Morgan, where in 2000 he developed a relationship with Epstein, who was a client of the US investment bank.

Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor in prostitution in 2008.

Staley admitted to keeping in touch with Epstein, who died in the New York prison cell in 2019, for seven years after his sentence.

Mr. Staley will receive 12 months’ pay, totaling £ 2.4 million, as well as his £ 120,000 pension allowance for the year and any other benefits.

Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority announced an investigation into Staley’s “relationship characterization” with Epstein for the company.

Barclays said that after Epstein’s death in 2019, Mr. Staley had “volunteered and gave some executives and the president an explanation of his relationship with Mr. Epstein.”

Mr. Staley will be replaced as CEO by Mr. CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, subject to regulatory approval.

The board said Venkat was identified as its preferred candidate for the role more than a year ago.