Jes Staley pressed JPMorgan to keep Jeffrey Epstein as client

Jes Staley pressed JPMorgan Chase to maintain Jeffrey Epstein as a consumer — even if the disgraced financier had been convicted of prostitution offences — earlier than the financial institution minimize him off as a buyer in 2013, in response to two folks concerned within the discussions.

Staley made the argument to different senior officers of the financial institution as JPMorgan examined whether or not Epstein’s conviction in 2008 of soliciting intercourse from a minor, which resulted in a 13-month jail sentence, was grounds to take away him as a consumer of its personal financial institution, the folks stated.

Staley, then head of JPMorgan’s funding financial institution, argued throughout the yr earlier than the financial institution dropped Epstein as a consumer that he had served his sentence and paid his debt to society, one of many folks stated.

JPMorgan declined to remark. A spokesperson for Staley declined to remark.

Staley’s efforts to retain Epstein as a JPMorgan consumer shed additional mild on their relationship, which compelled Staley to resign as chief govt of Barclays in November.

He stepped down after seeing preliminary conclusions of an investigation by UK regulators over whether or not he had mischaracterised his relationship with Epstein as purely skilled. Staley is contesting the findings and is awaiting the outcomes of his attraction.

The Monetary Instances not too long ago reported that the UK inquiry uncovered 1,200 emails between the 2 males whereas Staley was at JPMorgan, with content material that included unexplained phrases corresponding to “snow white”.

Staley labored at JPMorgan for greater than 30 years. He developed ties with Epstein throughout the interval when he was an govt on the financial institution’s asset administration operations. Staley headed JPMorgan’s personal financial institution from 1999 till 2001. He then took cost of the asset and wealth administration division, which homes the personal financial institution, from 2001 to 2009.

He was promoted to be head of the funding financial institution in 2009 and was serving in that position when the conversations to chop ties with Epstein had been happening. By that time, Mary Erdoes was operating JPMorgan’s asset and wealth administration division.

Staley left JPMorgan in January 2013, becoming a member of US hedge fund BlueMountain Capital. He turned Barclays chief govt in 2015.

The choice by JPMorgan to chop ties with Epstein got here amid elevated stress on US banks from regulators relating to their anti-money laundering controls, with the Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex, a banking regulator, figuring out compliance deficiencies by JPMorgan in early 2013.

When Epstein’s relationship with JPMorgan resulted in 2013, he turned a consumer of Deutsche Financial institution’s wealth administration enterprise, the FT has reported.

Staley has stated beforehand that his relationship with Epstein started to “taper off” after he left JPMorgan. Nevertheless, just some months earlier than becoming a member of Barclays, Staley sailed his yacht to Epstein’s personal Caribbean island.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 whereas awaiting trial on expenses that he sex-trafficked underage ladies.

Further reporting by Stephen Morris in London