The Upper Tribunal has upheld a decision by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ban Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays, from senior management roles in financial services.

The ban relates to misleading statements made to the FCA about the nature and timing of Staley’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Emails Reveal Staley’s Hidden Relationship

Epstein was a financier facing sex-trafficking charges at the time of his death in jail in 2019. His associations with public figures and institutions have since been subject to regulatory and legal examination. Staley had approved a letter sent from Barclays to the FCA. It claimed he did not have a close relationship with Epstein and that contact between them had ended well before he joined Barclays.

However, email evidence reviewed by the FCA showed that Staley referred to Epstein as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends. The two had exchanged hundreds of emails over a period of years.

Contrary to what was stated in the letter, the pair were in contact shortly before Staley’s appointment as CEO was announced on 28 October 2015. He formally took the role in December 2015.

“Staley chose to take a calculated risk that we would take his inaccurate account of his relationship with Epstein at face value. He hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get away with it,” Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA commented.

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FCA Fine Reduced After Barclays Decision

The FCA’s investigation also revealed that Staley remained in indirect contact with Epstein during 2016 and 2017, after taking the position at Barclays.

The FCA accused Staley of acting recklessly when approving the letter. The Tribunal agreed, stating he had a clear motive to minimise the nature of the relationship and did not expect the emails to come to light.

The Tribunal also found parts of Staley’s evidence to lack credibility and said he had shown no remorse. He was judged to have acted without integrity, failed to be open with the regulator, and failed to make appropriate disclosures.

The FCA had proposed a fine of £1.8 million. The Tribunal reduced this to £1.1 million after taking into account that Barclays had decided not to grant Staley deferred shares he may otherwise have received.

Barclays Fined over 2008 Qatar Deal

In a separate development, Barclays has agreed to pay a £40 million fine to the FCA for failing to disclose £322 million in payments to Qatari investors during its 2008 capital raises. The fine, reduced from £50 million, ends a long-running regulatory case. Barclays withdrew its appeal and stated the current leadership was not involved in the events.