Around that time, Epstein and Staley traded calls at least every few months, according to phone records obtained by Florida prosecutors. U.K. regulators have received a batch of emails between the men dating to the time Staley was at JPMorgan that suggested the pair’s relationship was closer than Staley has claimed, according to the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the matter without identifying them.
Epstein introduced Staley to Dubin, a connection that helped Staley arrange JPMorgan’s acquisition of a majority stake in Dubin’s hedge fund, Highbridge Capital Management, in 2004.
The deal elevated Staley within the bank, turbocharging his career, which culminated in him emerging as a candidate to succeed Jamie Dimon. Ultimately Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and -- after a brief stint at hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management -- was named CEO of Barclays in 2015.
Yet even after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution, in one case with a minor, Epstein stuck by his longtime client. Staley visited while Epstein was serving his time behind bars, according to the New York Times.
The pair were close enough in 2015 for Staley and his wife to stop off for lunch on Epstein’s island while they were on a sailing holiday.
Staley said his relationship with Epstein “began to taper off as I left JPM and contact became much less frequent in 2013, 2014,” before ending in 2015, after his visit to the island and before he took up his role at Barclays.
The beginning of his tenure at Barclays was marked by another scandal after Staley repeatedly and improperly attempted to unmask the identity of whoever sent letters to members of the bank’s board and another executive. After a yearlong regulatory probe, Staley kept his job, though the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority said he failed to behave “with due skill, care and diligence.”
For now, investors are signaling support for the executive, who’s overseen a 25% share price drop since he took over as CEO in 2015.
“Barclays is probably in a better position today than a few years ago, but these investigations are a continuing distraction,” said Alan Beaney, Chief Executive at RC Brown Investment Management, which has held Barclays shares since 2012. “The board may eventually think this guy is tarnished and decide at some stage that the bank will be better off without him. At the current time, they fully support him”.
Staley is adamant he’s been fully transparent with Barclays. But like others drawn into Epstein’s orbit, he admits to poor judgment.