An ex-JPMorgan Chase govt testified in London courtroom that Jeffrey Epstein knew extra about what was occurring on the prime ranges of the financial institution than he did.
Jes Staley — who went on to grow to be chief govt of Barclays following his stint at JPMorgan — claimed that Epstein, the convicted little one intercourse offender and disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019, had a “remarkable ability” to assemble Wall Avenue intel, based on a Bloomberg report.
“Mr. Epstein was also well connected within the upper levels of JPMorgan itself,” Staley stated throughout his second day within the witness field as he appealed a proposed ban and $2.3 million wonderful from London’s monetary regulatory company.
“He seemed to be aware of things relating to the bank, that I was not aware of,” Staley added.
Staley – who’s trying to overturn a lifetime ban that the Monetary Conduct Authority introduced in 2023 – acknowledged his relationship with Epstein went past work.
“It was founded on a business relationship,” the previous Barclays boss stated. “He became a friend.”
He stated Epstein informed him about his personal departure from JPMorgan earlier than he even knew about it.
“The bank was more important to him than the other way around,” Staley stated.
JPMorgan Chase officers didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
In 2000, JPMorgan’s then-chief govt Douglas “Sandy” Warner informed Staley he ought to get to know Epstein, Staley claimed in his witness assertion.
“Sandy Warner recommended that I should become acquainted with Mr. Epstein because he was an exceptionally well connected man who could help me, in my capacity at JPM, to form business relationships with influential and other well connected individuals,” he stated.
Staley claimed he was not the one high-level determine at JPMorgan in contact with Epstein.
“I have no doubt, as a result of knowledge of the financial services industry, that a number of senior investment bankers at JPM and at other institutions will have engaged in extensive email correspondence with Mr. Epstein and with other clients, without the relationship between them having become a ‘close’ one,” he stated in his assertion.
Staley stated he regrets his relationship with Epstein, who was a serious JPMorgan consumer, and claimed he was unaware of the serial pedophile’s “abhorrent” conduct.
“If I was aware of his monstrous activities, I would not have maintained a relationship, and I was not aware,” he stated in courtroom.
However the FCA stated that JPMorgan, Staley’s employer for greater than 30 years, informed British regulators days earlier than they launched their investigation that it believed Staley might need been concerned in Epstein’s crimes.
The main Wall Avenue agency informed the FCA that it had data that “indicated involvement of Mr. Staley in criminal activity related to Mr. Epstein’s trafficking convictions,” based on Mark Steward, the company’s former head of enforcement.
Mary Erdoes, chief govt of JPMorgan’s asset and wealth administration division, had desperately sought Epstein’s assist because the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme slammed the financial institution’s purchasers in 2008, based on courtroom paperwork filed by the US Virgin Islands in its 2023 swimsuit in opposition to JPMorgan, which has been settled.
Erdoes frantically emailed Staley and requested him to name Epstein – who had pleaded responsible to costs of soliciting prostitution from a minor simply six months earlier, based on the paperwork.
Erdoes terminated JPMorgan’s banking relationship with Epstein in 2013, six months after Staley left the financial institution.
Staley stated he believed Erdoes lower ties with Epstein as a result of he had been withdrawing massive quantities of money.
In his witness assertion, Staley claimed he had not been knowledgeable of the difficulty throughout his time at JPMorgan.
However he admitted that was inaccurate throughout questioning, when the FCA’s lawyer offered a 2011 electronic mail from Epstein to Erdoes saying: “jes told me there was [an issue] reg[arding] cash withdrawals.”
Staley can be battling the FCA over a letter despatched by Barclays that claimed he was not shut with Epstein.
“The letter could have been written better,” Staley stated. “I wish it had been handled better; we probably wouldn’t be sitting here.”
