Ex-Barclays CEO James Staley fined and banned by FCA over ties to Jeffrey Epstein

investmentweek.co.uk:

Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays

The regulator said today (12 October) it had decided to impose a £1.8m fine and a ban preventing Staley from holding a senior management or significant influence function in the financial services industry.

The decision stemmed from the fact that the former Barclays CEO «recklessly approved» a letter sent by the bank to the regulator, which contained two «misleading statements» about the nature of Staley's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the point of their last contact, the FCA said.

In 2019, the regulator asked Barclays to explain the steps it had taken to assess there had been no impropriety in the relationship between Staley and Epstein.

Barclays faces criticism following Staley departure — reports

The FCA said the Barclays letter claimed the ex-CEO did not have a close relationship with Epstein and that he had ceased contact with the financier well before he joined the bank.

But the regulator found that in emails exchanged between the two, Staley described Epstein as one of his «deepest» and «most cherished» friends, and discovered the two were in contact at the time when the bank's board had approved his appointment as CEO in October 2015, before it was in the public domain.

The FCA acknowledged Staley did not draft the letter himself, but as the only person who knew the full extent of his relationship with Epstein, it was his responsibility to correct the misleading statements.

As a result, the regulator said Staley «recklessly misled the FCA and acted with a lack of integrity».

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: «A CEO needs to exercise sound judgement and set an example to staff at their firm. Staley failed to