Staley Set for Drawn Out Epstein Fight With City Watchdog
(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley has had a regulatory probe into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein hanging over his head for two years -- and it’s unlikely to be resolved any time soon.
Staley, who stepped down as CEO Monday, plans to fight a preliminary finding by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England into his “characterization to Barclays of his relationship with the late Mr. Jeffrey Epstein,” Barclays said in a statement Monday.
It would be be highly unusual for a serving CEO to contest adverse findings from the regulator.
The case is yet to go before the FCA’s internal panel, the Regulatory Decisions Committee, according to people familiar with the matter, meaning a formal outcome is likely still months away.
If he’s unsuccessful at the panel, Staley is likely to be fined, though the total is still undecided, the people said who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. He still has the option of a further appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
U.K. regulators have been probing how Staley characterized his relationship with Epstein since late 2019. The late convicted sex offender regularly brought Staley business when he ran JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private bank and the two were close professionally.
Staley has said his relationship with Epstein “began to taper off as I left JPM and contact became much less frequent in 2013, 2014,” ending in 2015, before he took up his role at Barclays.
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