The international bank Barclays announced Wednesday that it is freezing former CEO Jes Staley’s shares, worth as much as $29 million, pending the outcome of an investigation into his ties with Jeffery Epstein.
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority are investigating the relationship between Staley and Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Staley left Barclays in 2021 after the bank was told the preliminary conclusions of the FCA and PRA’s investigation.
Staley’s relationship with Epstein goes back to 2000 when he became the head of JPMorgan’s investment banking division, with Epstein “already a client” at the bank, Staley said. In December 2015, he became Barclays’s CEO and claims he has had no contact with Epstein since then, Barclays told the Washington Examiner.
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“Obviously, I thought I knew him well, and I didn’t,” Staley told reporters in February 2020. “And for sure, with hindsight of what we all know now, I deeply regret having had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
The ex-CEO will continue to receive his annual fixed pay worth 2.4 million pounds ($3.3 million) in cash and shares, among other benefits, until Oct. 31, Barclays said in 2021, when Staley stepped down. On Wednesday, the bank said it “does not currently expect to make further decisions” on the former CEO’s compensation “until the conclusion of … regulatory and legal proceedings,” according to CNN.
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An associate of Epstein and Prince Andrew was found dead in a French prison cell early Saturday morning. Prison officials said Jean-Luc Brunel killed himself during the night in his cell at La Sante prison in Paris, similar to how Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019.
